Behind Blue Eyes
by Cirno is baka
Summary: Beneath the foxy grin and the sparkling blue eyes lies more than one secret. A story that takes places in an alternate universe, with some similarities and some differences. Join a female Naruto on her quest towards a better future for herself and her precious people. (This is not a three people relationship, it's just for searching.)
1. Prologue: Towards a different future

The council had more or less tried forcing Hatake Kakashi into passing this team. It wasn't strange. The Council would not have the last Uchiha being sent back to the Academy. They would do anything to make the orphaned boy into their pawn.

But Hatake Kakashi was anything but the Council's puppet. Just like with every other team he had been assigned, he put them to the test. He was _hoping_ that they would pass, but reality was usually harsh. More than often people would disappoint you. That's why he was happily surprised when they proved that they were worthy of being ninjas. They showed some spectacular team-work at the end of the test.

"Well then… you all … pass!" he smiled at his new and first Team, "I'm proud to be your _sensei_. We will begin doing missions as Team 7 first thing in the morning."

Sakura smiled gently, Naruto grinned, and Sasuke smirked. They weren't going back to the Academy. They were all _Genins._ Sasuke and Sakura stood up, and prepared to leave with their new _sensei_. Naruto didn't. Or more like, he couldn't. The blonde was tied to a log after trying to steal the lunches after all.

"Um, guys," Naruto chuckled nervously. "Still tied up here. A little help please!" the blonde kept on shouting. Sasuke decided to turn around and smirk, which made Naruto see red. Something about the raven-haired Uchiha just ticked him off. He could feel his eyebrow starting to twitch.

"Oi, the hell do you think you are _teme!_ Come here and help me!"

Kakashi just sighed. They may have proven themselves on the battlefield, but there was still a lot of work to be done outside of combat and missions. Kakashi motioned for Sakura and Sasuke to go on ahead, and went back to untie Naruto.

Naruto just grinned in reply. "Hehe, thanks Kakashi-sensei. I knew you were cool!"

The _Jōnin_ felt delighted at the compliment, but quickly dismissed it. "Don't they teach you how to escape these kind of situations in the Academy?"

Naruto started to blabber incoherently, blaming this and that as a blush appeared on the blonde's face.

"Naruto- _chan?_ " Kakashi put some emphasis on the suffix as the continued to untie the blonde. He could feel the blonde cringe slightly.

"Why do your teammates think you're a boy?"

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 _A lonely girl was walking the streets of Konohagakure no Sato. The girl had no specific destination; she just went where her feet would take her. She just wanted to ... disappear._

 _Wherever she went people would abuse her. Being called a monster had become a daily occurrence for the young orphan. The harsh words were often followed by flying rocks. Occasionally, a mob would gang up on her and beat her. But it was strange. A tiny part of her was happy when they did. She had been thrown out of the local orphanage the minute she was aware of her surroundings, so she couldn't remember anyone touching her out of affection. But at least she could feel some sort of human contact when they ganged up on her. A beating is better than being completely ignored, she figured._

 _But that happened often too. The people around her would pretend that she didn't exist. This however, was not one of those night. No, tonight it was the girl's birthday, but more important it was the day the village celebrated the annual "Kyūbi Festival", where the citizens of Konohagakure would put on a huge festival, with lots and lots of different food stands, activities and a huge firework show at the end of the festival. The people of Konoha generally looked forward to this event._

 _Alas, for Naruto it was different. On this particular day, the residents of Konoha would actively search for her for one reason and one reason only; to beat her with everything they had. After all, during this festival the people celebrated the death of the Kyūbi no Yōko, a horrible demon which had attacked Konoha a few years back. Naruto had just been an infant when it had happened, so naturally she had no recollection of it whatsoever. What she did know was that the Yondaime Hokage had defeated the Nine-Tailed Fox and brought peace back to Konoha at the price of his own life. She truly admired the Yondaime; he was her personal hero._

 _But just like the Kyūbi no Yōko, Naruto was a monster. At least, that's what people would say. And since both of them were monsters, they both deserved to die. Those thoughts had started entering Naruto's mind over the last couple of years. Being called a monster and demon constantly would wear anyone down._

 _So this particular night, she was just walking ... and walking ... and walking, hoping to be left alone._

 _As the moon reached its peak during the cloudy night, Naruto heard a few voices. She estimated that there were about four or five people. The voices got louder and louder as the group drew closer to her._

 _She decided to sit down, and lean on one of the buildings, hoping that they would move past her without noticing. She had already been 'acknowledged' tonight. But as always, things didn't go as Naruto wanted them to..._

 _"Well, well, what do we have here?" snarled an older male, probably in his mid-40's. The rest of the group, around the man's age as well, stopped talking and went over to the apparent "leader" of the group._

 _"Tsk, it's the Demon Brat." came a reply. Soon enough they were all standing in a semi-circle in front of Naruto. The girl, still leaning on the building, could feel their hateful gazes, but was too afraid to look up or even answer them. Being ignored however, agitated the group of men._

 _"Are you here to ruin our fun again, huh?!" the tension was steadily rising, just like every other time. Naruto was used to this by now._

" _Is the demon a boy or a girl anyway?" a third male asked. He had a predatory look in his eyes, a look of lust and lack of sense._

" _Who cares, the demon is just an it! No one will care whatever we do to it." the leader of the group knew what the others wanted. "We are going to have some fun with you."_

 _The girl did not answer them. She just closed her eyes, and wished it would be over already. But as she 'ignored' them, the men grew angrier, and more violent. She could hear them cursing at her, and the occasional spit landing on her. The leader, growing tired of the lack of response, started to unbuckle his pants. The others were just about to follow suit._

 _Naruto whimpered. She was used to the beatings and verbal abuse, but this was something different. She did not know what was about to happen, and she certainly did not want to learn what was about to happen. So she closed her eyes even tighter, and tried her hardest to disappear._

 _Suddenly, a thud. Then another. Three thuds. Four. But it wasn't the sound of her being hit, or any other sound she recognized. It was something else. It wasn't as hard to breathe as before, and she could not feel any hateful glares on her. The voices were gone too._

 _She dared herself to open her eyes, not really knowing what to expect. She was surprised at what she saw. The four men were lying face down on the ground in front of her. Three of them with their pants at their ankles, while the fourth still wore his. There were no blood, as far as she could see, and no signs of struggle. She felt relieved, but scared at the same time. What could have caused them to drop down in the streets?_

 _Before she knew it, a hand plopped itself on her head, ruffling her hair. She looked up, all she could see was a mask. She could not believe someone was actually touching her with affection. Sure, it had happened a couple of times with jiji, the Sandaime Hokage. But he was busy running the village, and the village did not care for her. She did not want to trouble the one man who actually paid her any attention._

 _"Are you okay, hime?" the owner of the hand asked._

 _Naruto just sat there, bewitched. The thought of a cruel prank went through her mind, but at the same time this person seemed… genuine. A few tears dropped from her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away, and replaced them with a scowl. She did not want to risk getting into more fights, so she hoped her scowl would scare the man off._

" _I'm not a hime… I'm a monster." the girl continued glaring at the masked person._

 _From the voice, she concluded that this person was a man. He didn't seem that old, but she couldn't really tell. He wore a mask after all._

" _You sure don't look like a monster." Naruto was startled. 'Not a monster' was not a line she had heard before. Her scowl lessened, but did not disappear. She didn't really think that this man was evil, but years of abuse would make anyone wary of others._

 _She tried studying the man a bit more. She had seen a few people in the village wearing these kind of masks before. She recalled having jiji teach her about them. They were elite shinobi; ANBU she remembered._

 _She was abruptly brought back to reality. The man had put two fingers on her forehead._

" _Don't worry, little one. I will try to keep you safe, but I can't always be around. Be careful, especially around older men…" the young ANBU shuddered at the thought before continuing, "train, and become strong. Being a boy has its advantages."_

 _With those words, the man vanished into the night._

 _Naruto, who was still sitting down, was shocked, but felt a fire slowly burning inside of her. This shinobi had saved her, and gave her some advice._

' _Maybe I can grow stronger if I become a boy… maybe they won't try and do…" she looked over at the men in the street. She decided then and there. She was going to become a shinobi._

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Naruto was shocked. She had only told a few people she trusted that she was a girl, and no one had been able to figure it out themselves so far. "You can tell?" she meekly asked. She was kind of happy that we was able to tell, but also a bit scared. She had lived as a boy for so long now that she didn't really know how to be a girl.

Kakashi wouldn't admit it, he could see the girl making faces, but he hadn't been _completely_ sure. What he did know though, was that his old _sensei_ had had a daughter before he died, and that this kid was most certainly the legacy of the _Yondaime_. Kakashi nodded in response to the blonde's question, "I still wish to hear why, Naruto, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He truly hoped that his new student would trust him with her secret.

"Um…" Naruto began, touching her whisker marks as she usually did when thinking, "Kids can be mean. They often tease girls for being weak, or being crybabies or whatever. And adults… can do other bad things." Kakashi could see Naruto reminiscing about something, and cursed himself for not being able to protect her.

"I was lucky while being unlucky though," Naruto continued. Kakashi perked up at this, and was curious as of what she meant. "I was saved by _shinobi-san_. He told me that being a boy has its advantages. So I decided to become a _shinobi_ even stronger than him, dattebayo!" as the girl ended her explanation her mood shifted from unsure to the happy-fool she usually was.

Kakashi smiled under his mask, and ruffled the girl's hair. "I see. But you are stronger now, Naruto. I'm sure your friends would accept you regardless of your gender."

Naruto had thought about telling people when she started the Academy, but after seeing how the _kunoichi_ of the class just went after 'Sasuke-kun' instead of training she disregarded that idea.

"I don't know Kakashi-sensei… I don't even know how to be a girl anymore. I'm more comfortable as this." there was a hint of sadness in her voice, but she smiled nonetheless. "I'll just continue like this until they notice. Maybe they will, just like you, Kakashi-sensei!" she had taken more of a liking to the _Jōnin_ after he had figured her out without judging her.

Kakashi just answered with an eye-smile off his own, and ruffled her head some more, before they both followed after Sasuke and Sakura.

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"Jiji!" Naruto shouted as she ran into the Hokage's office. "Jiji, guess what! I passed. I mean _we_ passed. Team 7 can take on missions as real ninjas!" the young girl was jumping up and down his office.

The Hokage just chuckled at the blonde's antics. Sarutobi Hiruzen had constantly tired persuading people into treating Naruto as a hero, but it had always failed. He also wanted to raise the girl as his own, but the lousy Council prevented that. The blonde was forced into the orphanage, and the orphanage quickly forced her into the streets of _Konoha._ So the least he could do for her was to give her a place to stay, and some money to be able to fend for herself. He was truly disappointed in himself, but the girl had somehow turned into a splendid _shinobi_.

He had been surprised when she had come to him one day, asking to be trained into a _shinobi_. The _Sandaime_ and begun explaining what a _kunoichi_ was, but the girl had another unexpected surprise for him. She explained her meeting with the mysterious _ANBU_ , and the meeting had giving the young child a strong resolve. He had ignited the Will of Fire in her.

"I never doubted you, Naruto-chan." he smiled warmly at her.

Naruto pouted at the affectionate suffix. "Jiji, I'm a _Genin_ now. It means that I'm an adult! You can't keep calling me – _chan_!"

"But Naruto- _chan_ , you will always be like a cute granddaughter to me, how can I not call you that?"

Naruto had no comeback for that. She was truly happy to have the old man in her life. He was one of the few people who actually cared for her, so after some bickering in her mind, she decided to let it slip.

"Fine, you old fart, have it your way," she answered him in a playful manner. "But you better prepare!" she pointed at the _Sandaime_ , "I will take your hat sooner than you think, and when I do you will address me as the great Naruto- _sama!_ " Naruto started laughing excitedly.

'I know you will, _Naruto_. I just hope I will be here to see the day.' he smiled in response to her.

"Did you need anything else, Naruto-chan?" the _Sandaime_ kindly asked.

Naruto just shook her head, and explained how she was waiting for her team. They were going to go on their first mission today, after all.

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Over the next few weeks, all the new _Genin_ teams completed a bunch of D-rank missions. D-ranked missions were almost exclusively given to teams fresh out of the Academy. To be fair, it could be given to Academy students. That's how easy they were. The D-rank missions usually consist of odd jobs around the village, such as babysitting, farming, fence-painting and occasionally tracking lost pets.

This day was just like the previous ones. Team 7 were on their merry way back from another successful mission; if you could call it a mission. All they had done today was painting a fence and weeding out a garden.

Kakashi walked behind his team, and smiled to himself. Their teamwork had improved, if only slightly. Naruto and Sasuke didn't fight as much as before, Sakura didn't fawn over every little thing Sasuke did, and Sakura was treating Naruto with a _tad_ bit more respect.

But as he was thinking about the improved team-work, reality struck.

"What was that, _teme?!"_

"You heard me, _dobe._ "

Kakashi sighed. Maybe he was a bit _too_ positive.

"Naruto! Stop bothering Sasuke-kun. There is no way you could beat him in a fight, so don't even bother arguing!"

Sasuke just grunted at Sakura defending him. He didn't need her to butt in.

"But… Sakura-chan… he started it…" Naruto began explaining herself. Sakura would have nothing of it though as she began ranting about how strong _her_ Sasuke-kun was, and how he would _never_ start any fights without a reason.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto, who was feeling a bit down at having both Sakura and Sasuke ganging up on her. Sasuke could see a trace of sadness in her eyes, but it quickly disappeared, and Naruto's eyes went back to normal.

"Shut up, Sakura. You're annoying." Sasuke had indeed started it this time, and he did feel a tad bit of guilt when he looked at the blonde. He shrugged, and continued walking as it was nothing.

Sakura was deflated at Sasuke's rebuke, and Naruto surprised at Sasuke's response. Kakashi however was feeling a bit proud. It was at the expense of Sakura, but Sasuke had taken Naruto's side. That had never happened before. They were making progress. The fact that he had rebuked Sakura would _hopefully_ push her in the right direction too, but Kakashi knew the pink-haired girl needed a few more pushes to get over her obsession with Sasuke.

"Alright kiddos, why don't we grab something to eat after turning in the mission?" Kakashi suggest, hoping to build some teamwork outside of missions. He also wanted to reward his team. They had been doing a good job the last couple of weeks.

"Ichiraku Ramen, Ichiraku Ramen!" the orange-clad _Genin_ immediately exclaimed, the previous argument completely forgotten. She absolutely loved their ramen, and even better, the owner and his daughter were two of her precious people. They had allowed her, and treated her to ramen, while the other adults would throw her out.

"You're treating, right Kakashi-sensei?" the silver-haired _Jōnin_ just nodded in response.

Sasuke just smirked as usual, Sakura squealed, happy being able to eat lunch with her Sasuke-kun and Naruto was jumping all over the place.

Naruto, being excited at eating at Ichiraku's, grabbed Sasuke in her right hand, and Sakura in her left and began running towards the Hokage Tower, pulling her team behind her. "Kakashi-sensei is treating us, let's hurry before he changes his mind!"

Sasuke was a bit surprised, but allowed Naruto to grab him. Sakura was just about to reproach Naruto again, but when she saw her smile, she stopped. It was a genuine smile, from the bottom of the girl's heart, and Sakura couldn't help smiling back.

Soon enough, the three of them were off towards the Hokage Tower, with their _sensei_ following close behind.

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"Ah, Naruto, weclome!" the owner of Ichiraku's called out. Ichiraku Ramen was a fairly small restaurant in _Konohagakure_. The owner of small restaurant was Teuchi, a middle-aged man, and one of the few people to Naruto could confide in. Together with his daughter, Ayame, Ichiraku Ramen had formed a safe haven for young Naruto.

"Teuchi-ojisan! Naruto exclaimed. She was always welcome in his store, and he always welcomed her with a smile. "I'm here with my Team today," she motioned for him to pay attention, "this is Sakura-chan," she pointed towards the pink-haired girl, who smiled in return, "she's a bit of a fangirl, but she's nice!" Sakura wasn't sure if she was supposed to feel offended or happy, so she just continued to smile, this time a bit more tensely.

"The broody guy over here is Sasuke," this time drawing the old man's attention towards Sasuke, "he's a bit of a prick, and he _thinks_ he's stronger than me," she made sure to put emphasis on thinks, "but I guess he got his good points…" Sasuke just grunted.

"And Kakashi-sensei! He's kind of a pervert, but he's strong…" Naruto was suddenly deep in thought before asking, "Hey sensei, why are strong people always perverts? I've defeated _jiji_ and that Ebisu guy with my _Oiroke no Jutsu_. They were strong _and_ perverts, just like you." Everyone sweat-dropped, but Naruto, who had another idea, smiled naughtily and turned to Sasuke, preparing to knock him out once and for all, but was stopped suddenly by Kakashi.

"Naruto," Kakashi began firmly and seriously, "being a pervert is fundamental to being strong. You better beco…" just as the _Jōnin_ was about finish his sentence, a loud clunk was heard.

"Stop teaching Naruto- _chan_ things like that! an angry girl shouted. This angry girl was Ayame, the owner's daughter, and she had smacked Kakashi's face with a frying pan. Just in the nick of time, according to her.

"Nee-chan!" when Naruto saw her _sensei_ being beaten by her nee-chan, her thoughts naturally went to strength and perverts. 'If Kakashi-sensei is a pervert and strong, and nee-chan can beat him… does that make her a super pe…"

"Na-ru-to- _chan_ ," the young woman closed her eyes and smiled wickedly. She was definitely giving off an evil aura, causing the whole restaurant to freeze. "Don't even dare finishing that thought."

Ayame, who had known Naruto since the girl was young, could more or less read her mind. She had been listening to their earlier conversation, about strength and perverts, and knew what Naruto was about to think.

Naruto just chuckled nervously in response and rubbed her neck, not sure what else to do. To break the weird atmosphere, Teuchi cleared his throat, and asked if they were ready to order. Naruto, like always, ordered 'a large server of miso ramen with roasted pork fillet'. Team 7 sweat-dropped at the order, but continued ordering. Kakashi went for beef ramen, while Sasuke and Sakura ordered pork ramen. Sakura just wanted to order the same thing as Sasuke. She didn't particularly like ramen, and she was on a diet as well, so she asked for a smaller portion.

'Why would a ninja need to be on a diet?" Naruto thought to herself, but deciding it wasn't worth thinking about.

As they were eating, Sasuke was peering over at Naruto a couple of times. It had happened a few times before, but sometimes people would refer to Naruto as _–chan_. He was starting to get a bit curious as to why. He knew that you could use the suffix – _chan_ for boys as well, but it was unusual, and was usually only used for younger boys.

" _Dobe_. Why do some people refer do you as _–chan_?"

Team 7 was shocked. Sasuke _never_ initiated a normal conversation. Sure, he would initiate fights with Naruto every now and then, but not small talk.

Naruto just shrugged her shoulders in response. "They just do, Sasuke- _chan_ ," Naruto stuck out her tongue towards Sasuke in a teasing manner. She did not feel comfortable telling people about her gender just yet.

"Hn," came the usual response.

Teuchi and Ayame had known Naruto since she was young, so they naturally knew her gender. They also knew Naruto's backstory, as she had confided in them before becoming a ninja. Naruto trusted them, and they trusted Naruto. It was not their place to tell others that Naruto was a girl, though they had, like Kakashi, encouraged her to do it.

Kakashi had watched Sasuke with an intrigued look. 'Maybe he'll be the first one to figure it out.'

As the night went on Team 7 continued to talk amongst themselves, and with Ayame and Teuchi when they weren't busy serving people. When they were done, Kakashi was a bit mortified. He hadn't really expected the bill. Naruto had finished four bowls of ramen by herself, Sasuke had ordered three, while Sakura ordered two. The last one was a bit surprising, but he guessed her training was finally paying off. She wouldn't be able to continue eating as little as she did if she wanted to become stronger.

Nevertheless, Kakashi was a man of his word, so he paid for the ramen, cried a bit, before wishing everyone a good night.

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Another week passed, and another week of D-rank mission was over. Team 7 found themselves in the Hokage's Office. They had just finished their most excruciating mission yet. Find the _daimyo's_ wife's cat, Tora-chan.

It had taken a while, but they, like many teams before them, had finally captured the cat. Sasuke and Sakura managed to trick the cat into running towards Naruto, who in turn was able to catch Tora-chan. As thanks of being captured, the cat decided to scratch Naruto, who in addition to whisker marks, now sported some neat scratch mark on her face.

Sarutobi Hiruzen just chuckled at Naruto's appearance, and was about to assign them yet another D-ranked mission, but before he could finish Naruto finally snapped.

"What's the big deal, you old fart! We've been doing missions we could have done in the Academy for a month now, give us something more exciting!" Naruto plopped down on the floor, crossed her arms and proclaimed that she would not move unless they got an exciting mission.

Kakashi sighed. He knew that this would happen sooner or later. Sakura was a bit worried outwardly, but inner Sakura agreed with a loud ' _Shannaro_!'

Sasuke just smirked, agreeing with Naruto. They were more than ready for harder missions. They had barely used any _ninjutsu_ on their missions so far. He would not admit it, but he truly wanted to go on a more adventurous mission, where he could prove himself. He needed to get stronger to be able to _kill_ his brother.

Umino Iruka, who sat alongside the Hokage, was appalled by his student's behavior. He was just about to snap at her, but the _Sandaime_ stopped him. 'He can't possibly be considering assigning them a C-ranked mission?' he thought worriedly. 'They aren't ready yet!'

The _Hokage_ was thinking just that. Team 7 had completed more D-ranked missions than the other teams, and they had proved that they were able to work together. They had Kakashi's approval, and Kakashi had failed every single team he had been assigned before.

Hiruzen started twirling his beard, and looked over his mission files. "Alright, Naruto," he had a habit of dropping the _–chan_ when they weren't alone, "I will send you and your team on an escort mission. It's C-ranked, so you better prepare." he gave the young girl a small smile.

"YES!" Naruto exclaimed as she jumped off the floor, doing a little victory dance, "You won't regret it, _jiji!_ We will complete this mission flawlessly, _dattebayo_!"

Naruto, after calming down a bit, asked the old man who they were supposed to escort. She secretly hoped for some big shot, like a feudal princess. But when Hiruzen called in the client, her mood dropped. It was just some grey-haired old man. The old man wore a pair of glasses, a weird-looking hat and had a beard.

"Old men and their weird hats and beards…" Naruto muttered to herself.

Their client, who was called Tazuna, looked over Team 7 and snorted.

"These brats really my guards?" Naruto noted that he reeked of _sake_ , but choose not to comment on it. "Are they really ninja? Especially that short blonde brat" he pointed at Naruto.

Naruto, who truly had tried to show some self-restraint, started spouting insults and was about to fly at Tazuna, but Kakashi stopped her and put his hand over her mouth.

"Don't worry, Tazuna-san," he started, still restraining his blonde student, "I'm a _Jōnin,_ and these 'brats' are more than enough to guard you on a C-ranked mission."

Naruto calmed down a bit after Kakashi's praise, and Kakashi let her go. He truly believed in his team, but with Tazuna _and_ Sasuke agitating Naruto, this was going to be a long trip.


	2. Chapter 1: Hidden in the Mist

Team 7, coupled with their new client, the bridge-builder Tazuna, were standing just in front of the gates of _Konoha_ , ready to set out on their mission.

Team 7 had been tasked with escorting the old man to _Nami no Kuni_. _Nami no Kuni_ was a small island nation, located near the _Hi no Kuni_. The small nation had no Hidden Village of their own, which is why the Tazuna sought assistance from _Konohagakure no Sato_. The island depends on shipping for import and export, which is where Tazuna comes in. As a bridge-builder, it was his job to connect the island nation with the main land.

This mission was only C-ranked however, which meant no combat with other ninjas. Team 7 were meant to guard Tazuna against things like common thugs and wild animals. But nevertheless, the young _Genins_ were excited. It was their first mission outside of _Konoha_. With their gear packed, the group was ready to start their journey towards _Nami no Kuni_.

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About an hour had passed since they left _Konoha_ , and the group had fallen into a sort of formation. Sakura trailed just behind Kakashi, who was leading the group. Tazuna was following her, with Naruto a bit behind on his left and Sasuke a bit behind on his right.

Kakashi mentally nodded in approval. They were taking the guarding and escorting seriously, and their client looked more comfortable. 'Don't judge a book by their cover,' Kakashi chuckled, as he was sure that's what the old man was thinking.

Naruto was thrilled, to say the least. It was her first time outside the village, and to boot she was on a C-rank escort mission! Their client could have been a bit more interesting, but Naruto didn't mind _that_ much. She had begged and begged the old _Hokage_ to let her outside of the village, but he would never allow her to leave.

But nothing could ruin her mood today. She glanced over at Sakura and her _sensei._ They were walking forward casually, and they both seemed to be relaxed. Tazuna was walking with tense steps, and it seemed like he was worrying over something. Naruto shrugged, and decided to let the old man be.

She looked over at Sasuke, who seemed to be in a foul mood as usual. 'Why is he always frowning and looking like he's got a stick up his ass?' she chuckled at the thought. This caught Sasuke's attention, and he turned his head towards her. They entered a glaring contest, which ended with Naruto frowning and sticking out her tongue, before both of them returning to their original positions.

Kakashi had gone slightly ahead of the rest of the group, to scout for possible dangers. As he was checking the area, he noticed a puddle. _Hi no Kuni_ was currently in the dry season, which meant little to no rain. Puddles would not form naturally. To any experienced ninja, this was an obvious trap, and Kakashi wasn't a _Jōnin_ for nothing. For a second he considered taking on the potential enemy by himself, but decided against it. He was going to let his students show what they are made of, and engage the enemy only if necessary.

As the rest of the group caught up to Kakashi, they saw him standing still. The _Jōnin_ had deliberately turned his back to the puddle, and motioned for his team to pay attention to him. They walked towards him, but the group were suddenly frozen in fear. Two unknown beings had emerged from the puddle ahead, and had wrapped some kind of chain around their _sensei._ Before anyone could react, the silver-haired _shinobi_ was torn into pieces.

"That's one."

Sakura screamed. Tazuna was stunned. Naruto's eyes were lifeless as she watched the gruesome scene play out in front of her. The enemies started advancing on them, and Naruto shook her head, forcing herself to pull out a _kunai_. She had to do something. She watched as the enemy duo unhooked their chain, right in the middle, which allowed them to fight one-on-one battles more easily. Naruto and Sasuke shared a look, nodded and moved to stand in front of Sakura and Tazuna. The blonde shouted at Sakura to stay back and protect Tazuna. The young _kunoichi_ was still in shock, but managed to pull out a _kunai_ and prepared for an eventual third enemy.

Naruto was… terrified, as she watched the enemy _shinobi_ close in on her. She had no idea how this fight would end, and her confidence started to waver. Sure, she bragged about being strong, and that she could beat _anyone_ , but being put on the test like this, against experienced enemy ninja, left her feeling _weak_.

She tried to move, but her body would not obey her. It wasn't until she heard Sasuke's voice calling out to her, telling her to move it. She was able to avoid the enemy _shinobi_ by a hair's length. One second to tale and she would have been struck by that vicious looking gauntletof his.

The blonde threw the _kunai_ in hand mid-air, but it was quickly blocked by iron gauntlet. She pulled out another _kunai_ , as did the enemy, and they re-engaged in close combat. Naruto managed to avoid getting hit by the gauntlet and _kunai,_ thanks to her nimble body. She succeeded in getting a few hits of her own in on the enemy, but nothing major.

They continued exchanged blows for a little while, no one really getting the upper-hand. Her foe suddenly threw his _kunai_ , so she responded by doing the same. A clink could be heard as the ninja weapons collided mid-air.

Naruto looked back at Sakura and Tazuna, and saw fear in their eyes, but Sakura still looked determined. Naruto knew that the girl would protect the old geezer. Naruto's resolve hardened, promising herself to not let anyone else or her team or their client get hurt. She formed her iconical hand-seal, a two-fingers cross, and molded her chakra.

" _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

Two clones popped out of nowhere, and immediately engaged the enemy _shinobi_. She hoped that she would be able to overwhelm her foe with sheer numbers. The man, who was obviously more experienced than Naruto, pulled out his chain once more, which had retracted into his gauntlet after separating from is comrade. He began using the chain as a whip, forcing her to stay on her toes.

As soon as her clones tried getting into close-combat, they would either get forced back or get destroyed. She tried creating a few more clones, but the result was the same. But Naruto was not one to give up. She knew she had massive _chakra_ reserves, and great stamina to boot. Sooner or later her foe wouldn't be able to keep up with her.

A loud yell suddenly startled Naruto and her opponent. 'Sasuke!' Naruto turned her head towards the other fight, hoping that Sasuke was alright. Her opponent had briefly stopped to take a look as well, feeling a bit worried about his brother. What they saw made Naruto almost jump. Sasuke was completely overpowering the other _shinobi!_

Naruto turned back towards her opponent once more, this time with new found vigor. She was not losing to Sasuke! The enemy _shinobi_ momentarily glared back at Naruto before suddenly taking off towards Sasuke and his brother.

The blonde cursed herself for letting her enemy escape, but even more so since he was moving towards Sasuke. She knew she had to catch up to him, otherwise Sasuke would be caught up in a pincer attack, and these two obviously knew how to cooperate.

A few images flashed through her head, as she pictured Sasuke getting torn apart just like Kakashi. Something snapped inside of her. She could feel a huge amount of power surging from inside of her. It did not feel like her normal _chakra,_ but she didn't care. She needed to get to Sasuke before the enemy did.

'Did the seal break?!' a hidden _Jōnin_ instantly thought as he felt the menacing _chakra_ erupting from Naruto. 'No, it's still intact, but that's definitely the _Kyūbi's chakra_. She is still in control… for now. I might need to intervene,' he put his right hand in one of his pouches, making sure to have a seal ready.

Sasuke, who was busy fighting the other enemy, could also feel the strange power coming from Naruto's fight. At first he thought it was from the enemy _shinobi,_ so as soon as he got the chance to, he glanced over to their fight. What he saw stunned him. The strange _chakra_ was emanating from Naruto! He didn't have time to worry about that now though, as he was in the middle of his own fight, and he could see that the other ninja was heading his way as well. He cursed under his breath, and did his best to bring down the opponent in front of him before the other one got to him.

Naruto, feeling more powerful than ever, immediately sprung after her foe. She felt stronger, and lighter, and somehow knew that she would be able to catch up to him before he could reach her teammate. She was able to successfully intercept the enemy _shinobi,_ but not without injury. She overestimated herself when she lunged towards the enemy. He, just like the others, felt the _chakra_ coming from Naruto, and turned around to face. He was able to graze her with his gauntlet, just under her shoulder on her left arm.

She fell to the ground, and rubbed her arm where the injury was. She was able to stop him from charging at Sasuke, and it gave the raven-haired Uchiha just enough time to finish off his opponent, and he was able to engage the remaining _shinobi_ without hindrance.

For some reason Sasuke felt a hint of anger building up inside of him as he watched the blonde clutching her arm. He gritted his teeth, and felt a sudden pain in his right eye. He dove at the enemy, who was noticeably slower than the former foe. What Sasuke didn't realize was that he was in fact _faster_ than before. He made quick work of the enemy, with the help of his new, still unknown to him, ability. The two enemies had been successfully knocked out.

But even though they had won in the end, Team 7 and Tazuna were all upset. Kakashi had been killed on their first mission outside the village. But soon enough they heard a familiar voice which pulled out of their sadness, and turned it into first confusion and later joy.

"Good job, everyone. I'm proud of you all."

It was Kakashi, who had somehow survived the stealth attack. Everyone was confused as they looked towards what they thought was Kakashi's body. Instead of finding a dismembered body, they found a log. Easiest trick in the book, ' _Kawarimi no Jutsu.'_ Now that the group of _Genin_ were able to think rationally, it was kind of obvious. There was no way Kakashi would be taken out by these chumps, even if they had the element of surprise.

"Sakura, great job protecting the client. You showed trust in your teammates' abilities, and were able to protect the client from potential additional harm." Sakura was looking bashful, happy at being praised, but at the same time she felt it was undeserving. She hadn't really done anything worthy of praise, according to herself.

"Sasuke, as always you showed a true display of skill. You were able to knock out both enemies, with the help of Naruto. You are truly a genius, and a real Uchiha to boot." Kakashi hinted that Sasuke had awoken his _Sharingan,_ but only in his right eye so far. Sasuke just grunted, not taking the hint just yet, but was happy nonetheless, even if he didn't show it. But it wasn't the fact that he was praised that made him happy; it was the fact that he _had_ gotten stronger. It was a step towards Itachi.

"And you Naruto," he looked over at the girl, who was sitting on the ground and clutching her arm still, "we need to take a look at that wound," Naruto was a bit disappointed in herself. She had done nothing but get harmed, while Sasuke had defeated _both_. Sure, she had stopped Sasuke from possible harm, but she wanted to defeat an enemy with her hands too!

But before she could think any more pessimistic thoughts, Kakashi continued, "because if we don't, the team would surely suffer. You have proven to be an irreplaceable teammate and _friend_ ," Naruto looked up at her _sensei,_ with hope in her eyes, "you truly took my words to heart. 'Does who abandon their comrades are worse than trash'. I'm very proud of you for protecting your team." he looked over his team once more, "I'm truly proud of you all."

All her pessimistic thoughts were blown away, and she quickly jumped onto her feet, "YES, I'm awesome, you better thank me _Sasuke-chan!"_ Sasuke clenched his teeth at the suffix, but decided against arguing with the blonde… for now.

"Yahoo, we totally kicked their asses!" She had clearly forgotten about her previous injury. Sakura smiled, relieved that everyone was alive and relatively uninjured. Tazuna did the same, but laughed a bit out loud at the blonde's antics. Neither of them couldn't even imagine the blonde being poisoned. Sakura hadn't been in direct combat, so she hadn't seen their gauntlets up close.

But Sasuke, who had fought the enemy, _knew_ that their gauntletswere coated in some sort of poison. He turned towards Naruto, tried his hardest not to look concerned, and started walking over. But before he got to the blonde, Kakashi had stopped him. The _Jōnin_ motioned for Sasuke to sit down and rest, and let him handle Naruto's injury. Sasuke snorted in dissatisfaction, but complied.

"It's good and all that you are happy, Naruto, but if you don't stop moving around so much the poison in your blood will spread. You don't want to die, do you?"

There was a second of silence. Everyone had heard what Kakashi had said. The silence was soon followed by a loud, unusually girly, shriek.

"Gyaaaaaaa! Help me, help me, help me!" the blonde started running around in circles. She clearly did not understand the meaning of 'stop moving around'. Kakashi just exhaled loudly.

"Naruto, relax and follow me." Naruto stopped running around and nodded as she started to trail after Kakashi. Her face had turned pale at this point, not so much due to the poisoning, but due to her _fear of poisoning._

They ended up sitting sitting a bit away from the rest of the group. Sakura and Sasuke both made an attempt to follow, but Kakashi and told them to they needed some space.

Naruto, who was now sitting still, waited for whatever Kakashi was going to do. She kept on rolling her thumbs in a nervous manner. As always, she was wearing her orange jumpsuit, and it didn't really occur to her _how_ her _sensei_ was supposed to treat her injury.

"Well, Naruto, I need you to open your jumpsuit and pull it down a bit if I'm going to treat your wound properly." Naruto felt her face growing warm, knowing what this meant, but she did not argue with her _sensei_. She zipped open her jumpsuit, and pulled it down, exposing her bare shoulders and upper back. She slid it down just a bit further on her left side, where her wound was.

'Chest bindings, huh? I guess it's just a matter of time before she can't hide it anymore.' the silver-haired _Jōnin_ noted, in an unusual non-perverse way.

Kakashi was by no means an expert when it came to _Iryō_ _Ninjutsu_. Heck, he wouldn't consider himself _good_ at it. At best he was a novice, and it would stay that way. He didn't have the _chakra_ control needed. But what he did have was field experience. He had had comrades being poisoned and injured during the _Third Shinobi War_ , and even during missions, which had led him to pick up a thing or two when it came to emergency treatment.

But the young man was still not confident in his ability to use a _chakra scalpel_. Sure, he _could_ create one, but it was unstable, and could possibly do more harm than good. So instead of a _chakra scalpel_ , he decided to use a _kunai._ He borrowed some alcohol from Tazuna to sterilize one of his _kunai_ the best he could. He torn some cloth from his under-shirt, and used it to tie the blonde's arm to stop the blood flow. He tied her arm in two places, just above and below her wound to isolate the wound, and hopefully stop the poison from spreading.

"Now Naruto, this is going to hurt a bit. Grit your teeth best you can, and please try to relax." With those words he began to open her wound with the _kunai._ He repeated the process a couple of times, until a steady amount of blood had left the girl's body.

Sakura and Sasuke, who were sitting in a log away from Naruto and Kakashi, were both trying to get a glimpse of how Naruto was doing. They had been told to give some space, but they couldn't help being concerned. Even Sasuke, who rarely let his emotions show, had a hint of anxiety in his eyes. He dismissed it as not wanting to owe Naruto one. His pride as an Uchiha wouldn't let him owe anyone any favors after all.

Sakura, unlike Sasuke, was wearing her heart on her sleeve. She was obviously worried, and was unintentionally moving closer to Sasuke, seeking some form of comfort. Sasuke would dismiss it as her usual fangirl-like behavior, but he could clearly see the concern in her eyes, so he let her be for now.

As the young Uchiha kept on looking at Kakashi and Naruto, he could've sworn he saw some sort of bandages wrapped around her upper torso. 'Was he hurt before we left _Konoha_?' he thought to himself. He made a mental note of asking him later. Not out of worry, it was more out of… jealousy. Had Naruto really been able to fend off, and then catch up to the enemy _shinobi_ while being injured?

"You better not be looking at my chest, _pervert._ " Kakashi chuckled, as he finished draining the poisoned blood out of the wound. 'At least she's well enough to crack jokes still'.

Naruto did not like showing her skin like this in public, which is why she wore the jumpsuit. It had somehow become a habit to wear clothes that fully covered her body. It made her feel more secure, so exposing her skin like this, even if it was to her _sensei_ and just a tiny bit, made her feel uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, Naruto- _chan,_ " Kakashi whispered softly, making sure the others wouldn't hear, "you don't have enough chest to make me interested." Naruto started pouting, and felt conflicted. On one hand, she was happy as a 'boy', but on the other she felt irritated at being called flat-chested. She had larger breast than Sakura, though no one knew that since she always wore her bindings. But still, being called flat-chested was a crime against _all_ women!

Kakashi noticed her pouting, and ruffled the girl's hair in amusement. "Don't move around too much Naruto. I'm not proficient in _Iryō_ _Ninjutsu,_ so I was not able to drain your body of the poison completely. I was able to extract most of it, but some still remain. It will not be lethal, but you still need to take care. We should go back to _Konoha_ and…" but before he could finish that sentence he was cut off by Naruto's loud voice.

"No! We are not abandoning the mission because of me!" the rest of the group were startled by Naruto's sudden outburst.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, please don't make us go back. I can handle this! I'm a _shinobi_ …" Naruto was feeling a few tears welling up in her eyes. "It's always me… I want… I want to protect others instead of being protected all the time!" she looked up at Kakashi with hopeful eyes, as she wiped a few tears away.

The young man figured this would happen. He could see the fire in her eyes, and he didn't want to let her down. But she was his student, and he was worried about her well-being, even if he acted like a lazy goof from time to time.

"Naruto," he began softly, "it's not up to you or me alone. We are a team, you, me, Sakura and Sasuke. We will decide what to do as a team, alright? We also need to question Tazuna-san regarding the mission." Naruto just nodded in response. She knew she couldn't force the rest of her team to stay on a mission like this, neither would she if she was able to. But she truly hoped they would see things the way she did.

'I guess we have to rely on the power of the _Kyūbi no Yōko_ to detoxify her and close her wound.' he thought as he wrapped the girl's wound in some bandages. He had opted to use cloth from his undershirt earlier to stop the blood flow. He figured it would be better to save the fresh bandages for later, just in case something went wrong.

He glanced over at the rest of the group. Sakura was still looking worried, and Sasuke… was Sasuke. He didn't let it show on his face, but Kakashi knew that he was a little bit concerned at least. Tazuna, their client, was acting rather anxiously, and he was mumbling something incoherently. Kakashi, who had just finished tending to Naruto, decided that this was as good a time as any. He walked over to the older man with a stern look on his face.

"Tazuna-san," the old man straightened up, and looked up at the _Jōnin,_ "do you wish to tell us something? Why were the Demon Brothers, a pair of _nuke-nin Chūnin_ , after your life?" Kakashi glared at the bridge-builder, and waited for a reply. When no reply came, he continued, "This is not a simple C-ranked mission. We can rightfully leave you here and return to _Konoha_ without any repercussions." Kakashi was glaring at the man as he spoke.

The old man had enough shame to look away with a guilty look in his eyes. Naruto had carefully walked closer to the rest of the group, trying her best to relax to help ease her pain. All of Team 7 were now watching Tazuna, waiting for him to explain himself.

"First of all, I'm sorry. I've deceived you all, and I have no qualms with you leaving me here. I deserve nothing else." he looked up at the group, still wearing the same expression. "You see, _Nami no Kuni_ is in terrible shape at the moment. The country is poor, and the population is even poorer. I could not afford anything higher than a C-ranked mission." The young _Genin_ , excluding Sasuke, gave the old man a look of empathy.

"It all happened when this man, Gatō, decided to use _Nami no Kuni_ as a base for his operations." Kakashi was surprised at that. He knew of Gatō _._ He was one of the world's wealthiest decided against interjecting, and continued to listen to Tazuna.

"He quickly bled our country dry by using his thugs and hired _nuke-nin_ to block any trade with foreign nations. Whenever we want to buy something, it has to be through him, and he charged us with extremely high prices. In addition to that, he's using _Nami no Kuni_ for his various…" the old man stopped briefly, before continuing, "side-businesses. In other words, he's shipping drugs and other illegal goods using the waters surrounding our country.

Naruto was very angry at this point. Kakashi had to stop her several times from interrupting the old man. She couldn't believe anyone could be this evil! Which was a bit ironic, seeing how she had grown up. The girl was pure at heart, always believing the best about people. But this _Gatō…_ He really _was_ evil.

"That's why I have to build this bridge. I need to show people that we can stand up to Gatō, and that we must, for the sake of our home and children! This bridge… It's our last hope!"

The old man closed his eyes, and bowed, "I know that this is shameful of me, but please lend me your strength!"

Kakashi noted that Tazuna was done explaining, and decided to share his two-cents with the group. "I've heard of Gatō, and I've heard _rumors_ about him. And after hearing your story, I can safely assume that the rumors are true. He's truly a nasty, and rich, man. That's a dangerous combination," Kakashi started, scrutinizing the older man, "this is obviously at least a B-rank mission. It might even be an A-ranked mission, depending on what kind of other _nuke-nin_ Gatō may have hired."

Tazuna continued bowing, but was visibly shaking at this point. Kakashi was about to continue, but Naruto beat him to the punch.

"Kakashi-sensei! We have to help him. This Gatō sounds awful, we need to stop him!" she exclaimed, much to Tazuna's surprise. This young _shinobi_ had gotten injured due to his lies, but was still ready and eager to help him. A small, genuine smile formed on his face.

"Sasuke, Sakura. It's up to you two. Don't feel pressured," he glanced over at Sakura, "let me know what you truthfully think."

"Hn. Even if the _dobe_ can't handle a few ninjas, I'm more than enough." he smirked at Naruto, who in turn flipped him off. Sasuke knew exactly how to tick the blonde off.

Sakura was fidgeting. She didn't think she was ready for a B-ranked mission. Heck, she had some doubts about a C-ranked mission! But at the same time she didn't want to let her teammates down. She inhaled, and decided to voice her concerns.

"Hey, I don't think we are quite ready for this. We need to get Naruto some help too…"

"Sakura-chan, don't worry about me. I'm fine!" she flashed the pinkette a foxy grin and a thumbs up. "You are stronger than what you give yourself credit for, Sakura-chan. You weren't top _kunoichi_ in our year for nothing!" Sakura was a bit startled, and felt a slight blush forming.

"You were able to protect Tazuna-san while I and Sasuke engaged the enemy. We are a team, and I know we can finish this mission as a team. Without you, we wouldn't stand a chance." During her short speech, Naruto had walked up to Sakura and placed her hands on the pink-haired _kunoichi's_ shoulders. Sakura felt… reassured. The blonde had given her courage, so she looked into those cerulean eyes and nodded in confidence.

"Kakashi-sensei, I think we should help Tazuna-san, and _Nami no Kuni_." Sakura met the _Jōnin's_ gaze, and after a short staring contest, Kakashi confirmed her determination. He had even sent her a bit of killing intent, but she didn't falter.

"Alright kids. There is a high possibility that we'll encounter even stronger enemies, so be on your guard. You have decided to finish this mission, so make sure you protect the client and each other." the group nodded in response.

"Now onto the next matter." Kakashi started walking towards the tied-up pair of _nuke-nin_. "The Demon-Brothers from _Kirigakure,_ huh." the young man silently muttered to himself as he inspected the unconscious duo. Naruto watched on in silence as her _sensei_ pulled out a scroll. He bit his thumb, and drew a line with his blood on the scroll and performed a series of hand-seals.

Out of nowhere, a white cloud appeared in a poof. The smoke quickly dispersed, and in its place was a tiny dog, wearing a _Konoha hitai-ate_ and a tiny cape.

Naruto was impressed, but at the same time she was disappointed. Sure, Kakashi had summoned a living being out of seemingly nowhere… but it was just a tiny pug-looking dog! 'Couldn't he have summoned something cooler, like a fox or something' Naruto thought, ignorant of the fact that she actually had one sealed inside of her. But before she could voice her opinion out loud she was interrupted.

"Hello, Kakashi," a deep, unfamiliar voice echoed. Naruto could have sworn she saw the dog's lips move, and that said voice had actually emanated from the dog. The young girl rubbed her eyes in disbelief, not really knowing how to react.

"Do you require my assistance?" the same voice asked. Naruto just gaped and pointed at the dog as she slurred confusedly, while jerking her head back and forth between her two teammates. Her eyes were wide open at this point, giving her facial features a comical look.

Sasuke just shrugged, and Sakura face-palmed. Both she and Sasuke had studied a lot, at least compared to Naruto, during their Academy days. They had naturally read about the _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ , and about animals working together with _shinobi_ in general. They had even had an Inuzuka in their class, for crying out loud, and the Inuzuka clan were famous for working with _ninken,_ some of which could talk!

"Cat's got your tongue, _dobe_?" as usual, the Uchiha tried to rile up Naruto. And as usual, it worked. Naruto snapped out of her confusion and glared at the Uchiha.

"Shut up, _teme_! How was I supposed to know dogs' can talk?!" she didn't know it, but she just kept digging her grave deeper.

"By studying, that's how. _Dobe_." Naruto was about to jump Sasuke, but Kakashi's voice stopped her just before she leapt of the ground.

"Naruto. You are still injured. Stay put. And Sasuke, stop agitating Naruto." the silver-haired man just exhaled deeply. A snort was heard from Sasuke as he walked away from Naruto, and Naruto just turned around, holding her head high and crossing her arms as she walked the other way.

Kakashi had just finished explaining the situation to the _ninken,_ who they learned was calledPakkun. The _ninken_ had been instructed to deliver a message to the _Hokage_ regarding the enemy _shinobi._ A tiny squad would be dispatched to pick up the _nuke-nin_ for _Jōnin_ had also included another part in his message. He had to tell the _Hokage_ about the mission and how it had changed, and asked the _Hokage_ to have a backup squad ready, in case it was needed.

Once they had taken care of all that, and after resting half an hour, the group was ready to set off towards _Nami no Kuni_ once more.

oooooooooooo  
oooooooo  
oooo

A few hours had passed, and nothing much had happened. They had spotted the occasional wild animal, but other than that it had been peaceful. Pakkun had been able to return to Kakashi and the group and had informed them that the Demon Brothers would be taken care of as soon as possible, before poofing back to wherever he came from.

Naruto let her thoughts wander, and started wondering exactly where summoned creatures came from. She shook her head, and decided that that was a lesson for later.

Tazuna had offered them a way into _Nami no Kuni_ , and soon the group found themselves aboard a small boat, together with one of Tazuna's acquaintances. They needed a way to sneak past Gatō's border control, and this was the perfect way to do so. They were able to conceal themselves using a route with a lot of vegetation.

Sakura had been awfully quiet ever since their encounter with the Demon Brothers, not even fawning over Sasuke. Her mind had been full of thoughts concerning the previous mentioned duo, as well as Gatō and what kind of other _nuke-nin_ he might have hired.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei," she began meekly, fidgeting a bit, "who exactly is this _Gatō_ person? Is he really that dangerous?" she silently hoped no, but after their previous encounter, and Tazuna's explanation, she more or less knew the answer.

Kakashi looked up from his _Icha Icha_ book and studied his student's face. He had to think a couple of seconds before answering as he did not want to upset the young _kunoichi_ further. This mission was going to be difficult to complete, he knew that much. They hadn't signed up for a mission of this rank, but he believed in his team's ability.

"Well, Sakura," he closed his book and made sure he got the rest of his team's attention, "Gatō himself is not a man to fear. Either one of you could knock him out cold by yourself." Sakura looked a bit more reassured at that. Sasuke was looking smug, acting like it was obvious while Naruto had a prideful grin on her face.

"People fear the _idea_ of Gatō, more than the man himself. Gatō has been able to oppress and bully a small amount of people, but he and his thugs have done it in public, which has led to misdirected fear of the man himself." They all nodded and listened to him intently. "He has his wealth, and his hired thugs, but in the end that's all. He doesn't have any power unless _you_ give it to him. I believe in you, in us, and I know that we can bring Gatō and whoever he has hired down." he ended his little speech by highlighting the importance of them working together, and the fact that he believed in them.

Sakura was able to calm down after listening to her _sensei_. If worst came to worse, she knew he would protect them all.

A couple of minutes later they had docked, and had officially entered _Nami no Kuni_. The group said their goodbyes and thanks to Tazuna's acquaintance, and headed off towards Tazuna's home.

Naruto, still feeling a bit woozy after getting injured, decided to take point this time. She was happy that she was able to stand toe-to-toe with one of the Demon Brothers earlier, but was a bit disappointed that she wasn't the one to take him down. She wanted to prove to herself, and to _Sasuke-teme_ , that she was a capable _shinobi_!

But as the trotted on, not much happened. They had a few more hours of light left, but as they were getting close to their destination, they decided to continue instead of setting up camp. Setting up camp could prove more fatal than moving in the dark, as they did not know what kind of hired muscle Gatō had at his disposal.

A rustling could be heard from one of the bushes near to the road they travelled, and Naruto being hell-bent on outshining a certain raven-haired boy, threw a _kunai_ towards the bush immediately.

"One down." she said smugly, as she wiped her upper-lip in a self-satisfied fashion. The rest of the group walked up to the bush and potential enemy. When they saw what it was a couple of seconds of silence enveloped the forest. Just behind the bush was a now curled up snow rabbit, shaking in fear right next to the _kunai_.

Naruto rubbed the back of her neck and laughed nervously, just before being struck and yelled at by Sakura. Naruto quickly apologized, first to Sakura, and later to the poor rabbit. Said rabbit also got a couple of tight hugs by the blonde.

While the two girls' were busy, they failed to notice Kakashi's sour expression. Just like with the puddles, this snow rabbit was out of place; it had white fur. Snow rabbits change the color of their fur based on the amount of sunlight they get. They change to white fur during the winter to protect themselves from predator, but it wasn't winter. It was spring. 'This rabbit has been kept indoors, probably for the purpose of _Kawarimi no Jutsu._ We are dealing with a _shinobi_ on a whole other level.' he thought grimly.

The masked-clad _shinobi_ suddenly felt a surge of killing intent, and quickly shouted at his team and Tazuna to duck. Naruto, still holding the poor rabbit, was pushed to the ground by Sasuke. A giant sword suddenly flew through the air, just above the group, before embedding itself into a nearby tree. They had been saved thanks to Kakashi. Naruto had Sasuke to thank, but she repressed that thought for now. Or more, she couldn't think that far. He unknown killing intent made her shiver and unable to think properly and it didn't take long of the cause of the killing intent to show himself.

On top of the large sword's handle stood a large, mean-looking man. He was probably around Kakashi's age, but unlike Kakashi who had a lean and firm body, this man was more muscular, and was a bit taller than the silver-haired _Jōnin._

Another thing to note was his face. He, like Kakashi, had his face hidden. While Kakashi used a mask to cover part of his face, this menacing-looking man had half of his face covered in bandages. Paired with short, spiky hair it gave him sort of a rugged look. A look of a seasoned fighter.

'This is bad.' the _Jōnin_ thought to himself. 'I need to end this as soon as possible.'

He looked over to his group, and saw them shivering in fear. They hadn't been exposed to this level of killing intent before, so it was no surprise.

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke," he began in a calm, yet strong voice, "form a circle around Tazuna and protect him. That's your job. Teamwork here is to trust me. I won't let any of you die." With those words he freed his left eye, revealing his _Sharingan to_ the world.

'How the hell does _he_ have the _Sharingan?!'_ Sasuke was frustrated, not knowing what was going on, but followed Kakashi's order. He _had_ to survive this in order to question Kakashi about the _Sharingan_.

Sakura and Naruto followed suit, still taken aback by the killing intent, but not as much as before. Kakashi's words had reached them, and calmed their nerves if only a little bit.

"The man who has copied over a thousand different _Jutsu_ , Copy Ninja Kakashi. Also known as _Sharingan no Kakashi_. To think I would be able to fight you, out of all people." The enemy _shinobi_ had an evil smirk on his face, and he spoke loudly on purpose. He wanted to catch the kids and the old man off guard.

"Momochi Zabuza, _nuke-nin_ from _Kirigakure_. Also known as _Kirigakure no Kijin_. Fancy meeting you here." He answered in a more cheerful tone, in an attempt to reduce the killing intent.

The both men glared at each other, neither of them moving a muscle. Moving carelessly _would_ be fatal. Momochi Zabuza was a master of stealth and assassination, and was famous for his _Silent Killing_ , a technique where he would kill his enemy in zero visibility, and without making a sound.

"Kakashi," he jumped off his sword casually, and pulled it out of the tree, "I need to kill that old man." Tazuna stiffed at hearing the _shinobi_ state it so casually. "Are you going to get in my way?"

Kakashi didn't answer. He just continued to observe the muscular man. Zabuza's expression turned grim. 'It almost made him look like a _demon.'_ Naruto thought.

"I guess I have to kill you first then," Kakashi just glared at the man, making sure that he was able to protect his team, "not that I mind much. This should be fun." With those words the _nuke-nin_ jumped back, and landed on top the close-by water.

" _Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu."_

Everyone's field of vision disappeared as a thick mist enveloped the area. Kakashi, who had information on Zabuza, knew this technique. It was what he would use for his _Silent Killing_. He noticed that Naruto and the rest were getting more and more anxious.

"Lungs," came a sinister voice from the mist, "liver, spine, kidneys," the voice seemed to be all around them, confusing the three _Genin._

"Or maybe the heart. Where would you like me to strike?" the voice was chuckling at this point.

Sasuke was fidgeting with his _kunai_ at this point. The malevolent _ki_ Zabuza's was letting out started to wear him down. His thoughts began to trail off, as he thought about Zabuza killing him. He would rather just do it himself if he was about to die anyway. Slowly he began pointing his _kunai_ to his throat, but halfway there a hand suddenly grabbed it.

"Thanks, Sasuke- _teme_. I needed to snap out this trance-like state." Blood was dripping down the blonde's hand as she grinned towards the Uchiha. "You weren't about to do something stupid now, were you?"

"Hn." He was disappointed in himself for almost losing it, and even more so that Naruto had to save him _again_. But he was able to come to his senses, and lowered his _kunai_ again into a defensive position.

"Don't worry… I won't let anyone on my team die." Kakashi's voice could be heard in the mist. Sasuke and Naruto felt battle-ready, but Sakura was still in a daze. She had witnessed Naruto grabbing the _kunai,_ and snapped out of it, but she was still scared out of her mind. She was a book-smart _kunoichi_ , which made her feel unfit for battle. She promised herself that if she would live through this, she would dedicate more time to training herself.

But as the group had somewhat calmed down, the mocking voice in the mist could be heard again. This time much closer to them.

"Are you sure, Kakashi?" Zabuza had appeared out of nowhere, and was standing in the middle of the group, ready to swing his sword. "It's over."

But they weren't hit by the large sword. They were instead struck by what seemed like a fist or a foot. Kakashi had managed to intercept Zabuza, and had managed to push his team and Tazuna out of harm's way before embedding a _kunai_ in the _nuke-nin's_ torso.

Naruto was sure that her _sensei_ had won, but before she was able to celebrate, Zabuza's body disintegrated into water, and another Zabuza appeared behind him.

"Kakashi-sensei, behind you!" the blonde shouted at the bottom of her lungs, hoping that he would be able to dodge it.

He didn't dodge it. Not because he couldn't but because he didn't need to. Kakashi had formed a _Mizu Bunshin_ at the same time Zabuza did. Kakashi's clone dissolved, turning into a puddle of water on the ground.

The real Kakashi appeared behind Zabuza, holding a _kunai_ against his throat. His students' were relieved. Naruto and Sakura showered their _sensei_ in praise, and Sasuke was looking more content than usual.

"It's over Zabuza. Give up, and I'll spare your life. You will be escorted to _Konohagakure_ for interrogation."

A moment of silence ensued. Then a dark, sinister chuckle erupted from Zabuza. At first it was quiet, but the laughing grew louder quickly.

"Is it? Your cheap imitations can't trick me, Kakashi." Another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, and began swinging the giant sword. Kakashi quickly ducked, and saw the Zabuza in front of him dissolving into water as it was cut in half.

Zabuza had anticipated the dodge, and kicked before even finishing his swing. The swing gave him some momentum, making the kick stronger. Kakashi blocked with his arms, but was still kicked away. Zabuza's body made a pirouette before coming to an end.

Kakashi was sent right into the water. He crawled up, to Naruto's surprise, and kneeled on top of the water. He panted, and coughed up some water. The water coming out of his mouth was mixed with blood, earning a shriek from a pink-haired _kunoichi_.

The water was heavy, and Kakashi struggled to get to his feet. Just as he found his balance, he felt a shiver. Zabuza had managed to get his back once more. His eyes widened, knowing that he would not be able to dodge what was coming.

"The water is my turf, Kakashi. _It's over."_ He clearly mocked the silver-haired _Jōnin_ by using the same words.

" _Suiro no Jutsu!"_

Kakashi was completely engulfed in water and unable to escape. He knew he wouldn't last long, and Zabuza was way out of their league.

"Get Tazuna-san and run! This guy is completely different from the other two you defeated! He can't move as long as I'm trapped here!" Kakashi's was frantic, and his face displayed the same feeling.

" _Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu."_

Another Zabuza appeared in front of the original.

"Don't worry about his _bunshin,_ it can't move that far from the water. Just lea…" he wasn't able to finish his sentence.

"Shut up, Kakashi-sensei! Even if we left he would catch up to us in no time!" Kakashi looked away shamefully. He wasn't able to think properly. The fact that his team was in danger had clouded his mind.

"Besides, we will _never_ leave anyone behind. You are just as big a part of this team as any of us. 'Does who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.' Kakashi-sensei, we will prove to you that we are _shinobi_ of _Konohagakure, dattebayo!_ " the blonde was determined to somehow _free_ Kakashi. She didn't think that she could beat Zabuza, but if she could somehow disrupt that _Jutsu_ of his.

Kakashi was taken aback. Naruto's voiced echoed in his heart. He was still scared, scared of anyone of them getting hurt. But he had never been more proud. Thanks to Naruto, he was able to calm down. He began analyzing the situation, and tried finding a way to dispel the water prison.

But alas, he did not know how. Someone had to force Zabuza's hand out of the water, and he wasn't able to do so from the inside. He cursed himself for getting into this situation, but he would trust his team.

"Sakura, Sasuke," Naruto flashed a foxy grin and eyes filled with determination, "let's go wild!"

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 **So yeah. I thought that was a good place to stop for now. Dunno what I'm supposed to say here. I know some authors like to communicate here, so I guess if you wanna know something I'll answer. But you have to ask first!**

 **If you want to be a Beta Reader of this story, send me a message. The story will continue regardless, but would be nice to have someone read it over.**


	3. Chapter 2: Pink power and a boy's tears

" _Sakura, Sasuke," Naruto flashed a foxy grin and eyes filled with determination, "let's go wild!"_

They all looked at each other, and nodded. Hearing Naruto's words had given them a bit of courage, and a sliver of hope. They didn't have to beat Zabuza directly, just disrupt that technique of his, as well as get past the _Mizu Bunshin_.

Naruto and Sasuke, being the fighters of the group, took the vanguard and told Sakura to focus on protecting the client. She was stuck in the same position as before. But she had decided to improve as a _kunoichi_ , and promised to help her team as best as she could.

She watched as Naruto and Sasuke readied a few _kunai_ and _shuriken._ They needed a way to get to the real Zabuza, who was on top of the water and neither of them knew how to walk on water. Naruto hadn't even known that there was a technique allowing you to do so, until she'd seen. It had surprised her, and she had made a mental note to ask Kakashi after they'd freed him.

Sasuke and Naruto split up, Naruto running to the right, and Sasuke to the left, and they both threw a couple of _kunai_ and _shuriken_ each. They didn't really think that this would force Zabuza to cancel his _Suiro no Jutsu_ , but they had to try anything and everything.

The weapons soared through the air, and headed towards the original Zabuza. The _Mizu Bunshin_ blocked the flying weapons coming from Naruto with its blade, and left the weapons from Sasuke to the real Zabuza.

The _nuke-nin_ easily caught the weapons in his hand, and just dropped them. With a plop, they sank to the bottom of the lake.

Naruto and Sasuke jumped backwards, and faced the _Mizu Bunshin_ together again. The _Mizu Bunshin_ would actively block at least half of their attacks, and the real Zabuza didn't have any problem blocking attacks from one side. Zabuza could probably block both of their attacks at once as well.

The _Mizu Bunshin_ made no attempts to engage them, or even go after Tazuna. It seemed like it was just toying with the two _Genin_. They would have to get rid of the _bunshin_ if they were ever going to get a real shot at Zabuza. 

In an attempt to bring down the _bunshin,_ they combined their attacks, and rushed the clone. At first, their attacks were random, and had no effect whatsoever. The clone had just smirked and blocked their various kicks and punches. They both jumped back, shared a glance, and moved in at the same time. This time they managed to time their attacks with each other, but still didn't manage to land any proper hits.

Naruto came from the left side of the clone, with a right-handed punch. She was aiming towards his waist. Sasuke, who came from the other side, aimed a left-handed punch towards the head.

The clone, who had re-sheathed its sword by now, decided to have some fun. It was going to just stall until Kakashi was finished. The clone caught the two punches in its own hands, and gripped them firmly. The clone raised its right leg, aiming a kick towards Sasuke's waist.

Sasuke, whose left hand was still trapped, tried his best to block the incoming kick. He tried twisting his body, in an attempt to use his right arm to block it. He was only partially successful, but he realized it wouldn't have made much difference anyway. The kick knocked the breath out of him, and he flew right into Naruto, who in turn flew further away.

Both of the _Genin_ were laying a few meters away from the clone, gasping for air. Zabuza had lessened the grip on their hands as his kick connected.

Sasuke was the first of the two to stand up. Naruto was not far behind, though she was still a bit dazed. When Sasuke crashed into her, their heads had collided. Sasuke's _hitai-ate_ had struck her just above her ear, causing her to lose her balance as she stood up. She motioned for Sasuke to give her a second or two to recover.

While waiting for Naruto to recover, Sasuke decided to try something else. He formed a couple of hand-seals, ended with _tora_ , and put his fingers in front of his mouth.

" _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu"_

A medium sized Fire Ball erupted from Sasuke's mouth. It was flying straight towards the _Mizu Bunshin_. The clone made no effort to move. It just stood there, preparing to take the attack head on. The fire soon engulfed the clone, which let out a pained scream.

Naruto, whose balance had returned, stood up next to Sasuke and patted him on his back. Sasuke leered, as he watched the clone burn. The _Gōkakyū no Jutsu_ was an Uchiha signature move, and it proved to Sasuke that he was in fact a true Uchiha. Not that he doubted that, but it was a nice feeling regardless.

But as the flames disappeared their good mood changed to worse. The _bunshin_ stood in the same location, unharmed. It was still screaming, but the expression on its face was not one of pain. And surely soon enough, the screaming turned into deranged laughter.

"A mediocre _Katon_ versus my _Mizu Bunshin_?" the real Zabuza asked in an amused voice. The clone had stopped laughing at this point, and was just looking smugly at the duo.

"You have to use a way stronger _Katon_ if you want to beat me. I'm a master of _Suiton,_ in case you hadn't noticed. Or maybe you guys are haven't even learned about elemental affinities just yet." The last sentence wasn't really a question. Zabuza was clearly mocking and underestimating them.

Sasuke had a clear, agitated look on his face. He wasn't a strong enough Uchiha _yet_ after all. He was about to give in to Zabuza's taunts, but Sakura's voice stopped him.

"Sasuke, Naruto! Don't lose your heads!" the pinkette shouted. She had been analyzing the situation while guarding Tazuna. She had to do something, and this was the only thing she could think of. Sakura was by no means a fighter, at least not yet, but she was a thinker. She'd noticed the way Zabuza spoke and acted. The fact that he hadn't made a move with his _bunshin_ proved that he underestimated them greatly, which could work in their favor. They just needed to play their cards right.

'Think, Sakura, think!' she shut her eyes, trying to come up with a way to save Kakashi. A few moments later, her eyes opened wide in realization. 'It's not optimal… but it could work.'

Naruto and Sasuke had not yet re-engaged the clone. They both needed to cool their heads, and think of some sort of strategy. Neither of them were blessed with that kind of intelligence though. Sure, Sasuke had a bright head on his shoulders, but he relied more on muscle memory, and his natural talent for _ninjutsu and taijutsu_ to take down a foe.

Naruto, dead-last in the Academy, was not a thinker. She _always_ acted before thinking, which, to be fair, had worked out for her so far. Well, it had _somewhat_ worked for her. She did get hurt in the fight against the Demon Brothers. But even though she had gotten hurt, the blonde relied on her gut-feeling.

If they would have had time to spare, they might have managed to think of a plan, but time was not on their side. Kakashi was trapped, and was quickly running out of time. Luckily for them, they had the brightest _kunoichi_ in their year on their team.

"You two, gather around me, quickly!" she demanded, her voice being louder than usual. They were soon gathered around the pinkette, and Sakura explained her plan to her two teammates. They approved of her plan; if there was anything Sakura was good at it was thinking. Both of them knew that.

Sasuke reached into his weapon pouch, and pulled out a _kemuridama_. He immediately threw it at the ground, which caused a smokescreen to envelop the area. They had to break the line of sight, and since the _Kirigakure no Jutsu_ had been dispelled earlier, they opted for _kemuridama_.

Zabuza was looking as calm and arrogant as ever. A puny little smokescreen wouldn't do them any good. If he wanted he could easily find them and kill them inside the smokescreen. But he was going to let them do what they wanted. A little fun never hurt, after all.

"Hey, no-brows," a voice, with the same mocking tone Zabuza used, came from the smoke. Zabuza's almost invisible brow twitched at the nickname.

"Do you want to make a bet?" the blonde continued.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha," Zabuza roared, "I like you kid. Tell me what's on your mind."

"We'll _force_ you to release Kakashi-sensei, and you'll give me your sword," she stopped talking momentarily, trying her best to taunt Zabuza, "but if we can't you'll… get to… um…" she was at a loss for words. She didn't really have anything to offer the _nuke-nin._ But she had to keep him occupied until they were ready for the next step of the plan.

"I'll tell you my biggest secret!" she shouted, not really knowing what else to say.

Zabuza frowned angrily. He knew that he could beat these kids with both arms bound behind his back, but to bet _Kubikiribōchō?_ He would usually never even consider it. But on the other hand, his usual opponents were at _Jōnin_ level or higher. This time he was up against a trio of fresh _Genin_. There was no way he could lose.

"Your biggest secret?" he snorted, still a feeling a bit annoyed, "I don't really care about that brat, but sure. You got yourself a bet."

'Yes!' Naruto shouted inside her head. Sakura had told the blonde to force Zabuza's attention onto her. The smokescreen was about to clear, and showed three determined _Genin._ Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all had fire burning in their eyes.

Sakura was still standing behind her two teammates, and in front of Tazuna. She wasn't as strong of a fighter as the other two. She posed the lowest threat, and it was likely that Zabuza wouldn't pay her any attention. Which was exactly what the three were counting on.

"Hey Sasuke, this brow-less freak is pretty pathetic, don't you think? The blonde continued to taunt the _nuke-nin_. "I mean, he's supposed to be at Kakashi-sensei's level, but he still have to use a _bunshin_ to keep himself safe against a trio of _Genin."_ She didn't really like putting herself and her team down, but for the plan to work she had to.

Zabuza was getting more and more irritated. He glared at the blonde with a vicious look, but didn't retaliate. To let a brat like that get under his skin was unforgivable.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement. "Don't put me on the same level as you, _dobe,_ but I guess you're right. It's _pathetic_."

"I see." The _nuke-nin_ was clearly annoyed at this point. "You think that I need my _bunshin_ to deal with a trio of brats? Don't make me laugh!" he shouted at them. He held up his unoccupied hand in front of his face, and formed a _tora_ seal.

" _Kai!"_

The _Mizu Bunshin_ turned into a puddle of water, and as soon as it disappeared a hail of _kunai_ and _shuriken_ flew towards him. He focused on the group in front of him, but he could feel something coming from behind. It was weak, almost unnoticeable, but someone was definitely coming at him from behind!

The turned his head slightly, and saw the blonde running towards him. 'Can that brat really walk on water? Guess that one on land is a _bunshin._ Must've created it in the smokescreen. Ah well, it was a good try.' He grinned ominously, and jumped.

"You lose."

The weapons headed towards Naruto, who had a look of shock on her face. But the shocked face turned into a foxy grin. The weapons imbedded themselves into Naruto, who disappeared in a poof. Behind the _bunshin_ came a charging pinkette. Zabuza and Kakashi were both astonished. The girl charged towards Zabuza with a _kunai_ in hand, ready to impale the man.

Her running on the water was sloppy at best, as her feet didn't hover above the water. She was sinking more and more with each step, but she had managed to sneak up close enough. She had told Naruto to create a clone to help her, just in case. She needed a bit of protection. The clone and Sakura had used the smokescreen to slip into the water, as Naruto had taunted Zabuza. She knew that Zabuza's arrogance would allow them to swim under and past him without him noticing.

Naruto had created a clone in addition to the one with Sakura, which had used _Henge no Jutsu_ to transform into the pink-haired _kunoichi_. Zabuza had been so focused on Naruto and Sasuke during their fight that he completely forgot about Sakura, discarding her as nearly useless.

They had been able to use his power and arrogance against him. He would have never thought that the physically weakest of the group would actually attack him.

Sakura swung her _kunai_ against Zabuza's head, who had no time to block it. He was _forced_ to side-step to avoid getting impaled. When he did, he lost control of his _Suiro no Jutsu_ , freeing Kakashi.

Sakura didn't have much _chakra_ or stamina left; she did have superb control, but that was mainly due to her low _chakra_ capacity. As soon as Kakashi was freed, she sunk. She watched on in horror as Zabuza, now looking deranged, charged at her with everything he had. He was going to _gut her_. He threw the _shuriken_ he had caught, and readied his sword mid-sprint. But before the _shuriken_ could hit the _kunoichi_ a few clinks were heard.

Kakashi, now freed, stepped in front of his student and parried the _shuriken_ with a _kunai_. Zabuza stopped in his tracks as he met Kakashi's eyes. They were filled with resentment. The _nuke-nin_ was visibly taken aback.

"Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke," he began speaking, never letting his eyes off Zabuza, "you have gone way beyond my expectations. This is what you can accomplish when you work together." The three _Genin_ were tired, but happy. They had managed to free their _sensei_ , who, surprisingly enough, looked stronger than ever!

"Naruto, create a _Kage Bunshin_ and help Sakura out of the water." The blonde complied right away, helping the exhausted _kunoichi_ out of the water.

"This is the end for you, Zabuza." Kakashi actually instilled _fear_ into the _nuke-nin_. Zabuza knew he had to do something. He formed began forming a couple of hand-seals, but was surprised to see Kakashi do the same. In fact, the silver-haired _shinobi_ made the _exact_ same seals as he did.

" _Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"_

" _Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"_

The water started swirling in front of both _shinobi,_ and started taking the form of two dragons. The dragons charged each other, and exploded when they collided. Water was pouring all over the area.

Zabuza readied his sword, while Kakashi readied another _kunai,_ and charged in. Kakashi did the same. Zabuza stopped, and Kakashi stopped. Something was not right here. They began running in circles, watching each other. Kakashi was copying his every move!

'He's completely copying…'

"My movements."

Zabuza looked with fear at Kakashi. 'Is he reading my mind? It's that…'

"Freaky eye of his." Kakashi was composed as he continued planting ideas into Zabuza's mind, unknown to the _nuke-nin_.

"All you do is copying, you…" Zabuza was disoriented at this point. He had no idea that the _sharingan_ could read peoples' mind.

"You monkey-faced bastard!"

"You monkey-faced bastard!"

Zabuza took a couple of steps back. He was at a clear disadvantage. In an act of desperation, he began forming hand-seals, but to his surprise Kakashi had beaten him to it. Before he could even finish his technique, Kakashi had called out his, and it was the same one he planned on using!

" _Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"_

Zabuza was blown away. The sheer force of Kakashi's _jutsu_ sent him right into a tree on land, and a few kunai shortly followed, impaling him in several places. He had been thoroughly beaten. Kakashi landed in front of him, focusing his _sharingan_ eye on the _nuke-nin_.

"Can… can you see the future?" a shaken Zabuza asked.

"Yeah… this is the end for you."

A few _senbon_ suddenly pierced Zabuza's neck, and the _shinobi_ dropped dead. A new _shinobi_ suddenly appeared on a nearby tree-branch.

"You were right. His end has come." The newly arrived _shinobi_ said.

Kakashi knelt down next to the body of Zabuza, and placed two fingers on his throat, checking for a pulse. There was… nothing. Zabuza had truly perished. Kakashi looked towards the masked _shinobi_.

"You're an _oinin_ from _Kirigakure no Sato_." Kakashi saw the symbol of _Kirigakure_ on the mask.

"You are correct. Thank you for your help." The _oinin_ used _Shunshin no Jutsu,_ and appeared next to Zabuza. "I need to dispose of the body. I'm sure you understand, _Kakashi-san_."

Kakashi felt a bit uncomfortable around the _oinin,_ but nodded. Soon enough the two of them were gone. Kakashi sighed of relief, and gathered his team and Tazuna.

Naruto was upset with how the fight had ended. The fact that a random _shinobi_ just popped in out of nowhere and killed Zabuza. It seemed… so wrong! Kakashi assured the blonde that these kind of things were not uncommon. Every village hunted _nuke-nin_ , and every village did what they could to protect potential secrets. Naruto had just mumbled in response, still feeling a bit dejected.

They were already close to Tazuna's house, so instead of resting they decided to continue until they reached the old man's home. It would be better to rest at his place, anyway. Kakashi walked a few steps, and was just about to fall but felt someone holding him up. On his right side stood a blonde, and on his right a pinkette. He smiled through as mask at his two students, and they began their walk towards Tazuna's home.

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Tsunami was a kind woman and loving mother. She had long, dark-blue hair, fitting for a woman whose name meant _harbor wave._ She was also known for her strong will. She'd do anything to protect her loved ones, and who could blame her? She had lost her first husband shortly after giving birth, and her second husband had been brutally murdered by none other than Gatō.

Kakashi had been forced to bed by said woman as soon as they entered Tazuna's home. He did try to argue a bit, claiming that he only needed a meal and a warm bath, but Tsunami wouldn't hear any of it. So it had ended with Kakashi inside a _futon._ 'What a fearful woman… I'm glad she's not a _kunoichi.'_ Kakashi mused.

"Aren't you glad I made you lay down, _sensei?"_ It wasn't really a question; more of an 'I was right and you were wrong' statement. If there was anything she knew it was how to take care of people. She would not let her guests suffer, especially since they had protected her father from certain death.

They had explained what had happened, about how Tazuna hadn't been able to afford to pay for a higher ranked mission, about the fights they have had, and how they had ended up accepting the mission regardless.

The fact that Tazuna had lied had earned him a hard whack right on his head. Tsunami was sure that _Konoha_ would have sent an experienced team if he would have told the truth. Kakashi had seconded what Tsunami had said, telling them that _Konoha_ would probably have allowed the old man to pay the rest whenever he could. The conversation had ended with Tazuna sulking in a corner, muttering something about being lectured by his own daughter.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Tsunami-san. I'm sure I'll get better soon," the silver-haired man answered. "It should take about a week until I'm back at full health."

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei…" the blonde looked down on her _sensei_ , "why did that masked kid have to take Zabuza away?" she had been wondering that for a while. He was dead already, so why would the boy leave with the body? And Zabuza had promised her his sword!

"Well, Naruto… A ninja's body contains many secrets. Zabuza was originally from _Kirigakure no Sato,_ which means that his body contained information about said hidden village," Naruto was listening intently. Sakura, who had been helping Tsunami preparing some tea, had joined in after giving everyone a cup. Sasuke was standing in the doorway, acting distant, but was listening nonetheless.

"An _oinin's_ job is to dispose of the body and its secrets, to prevent the information from falling into the wrong hands. In other words, the _oinin_ protect their village's most treasured secrets." Sakura nodded, while Naruto was having a hard time understanding _exactly_ what he meant. She understood that they protected their village, but she didn't really get how a ninja's body contained secrets.

"His body will be… completely eradicated. It will leave no trace." Sakura shrugged at the thought, seeing Zabuza's body in her mind.

"I sorta get it, Kakashi-sensei, but why did he have to move the body? And why didn't you make him leave his sword?! He promised to give me it, after all!" Naruto was a bit frustrated. Sure, the bet had been a way to force Zabuza's focus upon her, but he had agreed regardless, so the sword was hers!

"Hah… Sorry Naruto, but you don't have the aptitude for _kenjutsu._ " The blonde just gaped at Kakashi, before she told him off. She kind of knew that, though. She didn't really have any interest in learning it either, though it looked kind of cool.

"I'd say Sasuke is the only one on this team capable of learning _kenjutsu_ properly." Sasuke shot a smug look at Naruto, who in turn glared back. She was going to get him one day!

"As for your other question…" Kakashi suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Something was not right. _Oinin's_ were supposed to dispose of the body, that's true. But they were supposed to dispose of it right away, _without_ moving the body. This would mean…

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke," Kakashi's voice had a worried tone, "it's very likely that Zabuza is still alive."

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"You're back already, Zabuza-san?" a masked ninja asked as he looked down at the muscular man. He had managed to get Zabuza away from the _Konoha_ _shinobi_ by putting him in a momentary state of death.

"Damn, Haku… You sure are rough." The _nuke-nin_ sat up, and started pulling out the _senbon_ from his neck. "And how long are you going to wear that stupid mask?"

"It reminds me of the past… and it was useful for this act." The masked boy moved his hand to his mask, and removed it. Behind the mask… was a beautiful girl.

The girl was probably around Team 7's age, maybe a year older or two. She had long, black hair, pale skin and dark-brown eyes; she'd probably be considered a natural beauty wherever she went. But the only place she wanted to be was next to Zabuza, her one and only important someone.

"Besides, if I hadn't saved you, you would have definitely died." The girl closed her eyes and giggled at the vicious man. She truly cared for the man, and she wasn't shy showing it. After all, Zabuza had saved her when she was just a kid.

She had been born in a snowy village in _Mizu no Kuni_ , a land that had suffered a lot of civil wars. One of those wars was before Haku's birth, and itwas fought mostly between 'normal' _shinobi_ , and _shinobi_ with _kekkei genkai_. The war eventually ended, but the memories of the all the fighting remained. _Kekkei genkai_ users became feared and despised.

Haku's mother was a wielder of _Hyōton_ , a _kekkei genkai_ which allowed the user to fuse _fūton_ and _suiton_ to create ice. She had hid this fact from her husband, out of fear and love, hoping that they could live in peace as a normal family. But when young Haku had showed that she could manipulate water, she had immediately showed her mother, who in turn had been horrified. Haku had been severely scolded, but her mother had soon apologized. What the two did not know was that Haku's father had seen them.

He gathered a mob of villagers, and went to kill his wife and child. With tears streaming down his face, he murdered his wife, and went on to attempt killing Haku. Haku, who was desperate after seeing her mother being killed, somehow managed to use her _Hyōton,_ creating several large ice spikes which impaled her father and the mob, killing them.

She became an orphan, and started living on the street. She later met Zabuza, who proclaimed that 'they had the same eyes.' He asked the orphan to become a weapon for him, a tool for his use. Haku, who had no purpose, willingly agreed. She was wanted by someone, and that someone would be her most important person.

"You're annoying as always…" Zabuza muttered, feeling a bit sluggish. Being put into a momentary state of death after fighting against Kakashi put a lot of strain on his body. He had asked Haku how long she thought it'd take for him to recover. About one week. But Haku, being a positive kid, told him that he might recover even faster.

"Next time I'll kill _Sharingan no Kakashi._ "

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"EH!" Naruto, Sakura and Tazuna all shouted with a look of shock. They had all seen Kakashi checking Zabuza's pulse himself, and confirmed the death of the _nuke-nin_. And they had seen him being pierced in the _neck!_ No one survives that!

"How the hell can he be alive, Kakashi-sensei?! You even checked his pulse!" Naruto had a hard time believing what her _sensei_ was telling them. Part of her wanted to believe that this was another of his _stupid_ tests, but another part heard the seriousness in his voice. He was telling the truth.

" _Senbon_." Sasuke mumbled quietly, but loud enough for the rest of them to hear. He had closed the door, and was sitting down near the rest of his team.

Kakashi nodded, and began explaining. A _senbon_ had a low probability of killing the opponents, unless you managed to hit a vital organ. In addition to the low probability rate, _senbon_ were also used by doctors for acupuncture therapy. It could be used as a tool for killing, which was hard, or relaxing the body, which was easier.

The masked ninja was obviously used to fighting with _senbon,_ and could have easily killed Zabuza had he wanted to. That much was true. But the fact that he decided to carry the body away from them, in addition to the use of _senbon_ , indicated that his motive was not to kill Zabuza, but to save him.

"Naruto, you said it yourself. 'Why did he move the body?' An _oinin_ is supposed to dispose of the body without moving it." They all gulped in fear. "I could of course be wrong, but everything points to the fact that Zabuza is still alive, and that the masked _shinobi_ is a comrade of his. Therefore, we will prepare to fight him, instead of hoping for the best."

Naruto wouldn't admit it, but she was a bit happy that Zabuza might still be alive. She had been pissed off at the _oinin_ for taking out Zabuza like it was nothing, after everything they had done. They had fought so hard to free their _sensei_ , only to have it go to waste. She wasn't going to let it happen again! This time she'd be ready.

"Does that mean we will receive training, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. She knew that they forcing Zabuza to release Kakashi had been a fluke at best, and she was growing more and more confident in her abilities as a _kunoichi_ , but she was worried. This time they'd be up against two people, if Kakashi's reasoning was correct, and a week's worth of training didn't sound near enough to take on both of them.

"Can we really beat them? I mean, last time was just a fluke for us…" she stuttered, looking down at the floor. Her confidence was starting to falter more and more as she thought about Zabuza and the mysterious _shinobi_.

"Sakura," their _sensei_ said with confidence as the set his gaze on the pinkette, "your plan was not a fluke." She looked up at her _sensei_ and noticed his gentle expression. "You analyzed the situation perfectly, and were able to come up with a strategy. I'm sure you can do that again."

She felt her confidence returning, and felt her cheeks reddening at the praise.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto was restless, and she wanted to be praised as well. She didn't lack confidence, but she wanted him to recognize her as a strong _shinobi_ as well. She was fidgeting as she looked at her _sensei._

"You too, Naruto," he said with a smile, "and you as well, Sasuke," he turned to the Uchiha, "it was thanks to your teamwork that you were able to free me." Naruto grinned, and began jumping around, but felt a sudden ache in her arm. She had used a lot of _chakra_ since their fights with the Demon Brothers and Zabuza, and they hadn't really had time to rest all that much. She still had some poison left in her body. It wasn't lethal, so the _Kyūbi_ had not bothered flushing it out of system.

Kakashi saw the blonde staggering and clutching her arm. He asked Tsunami if she could help the blonde out, requesting the young mother to check her arm, but to do so in another room. Naruto complained, but her complaints fell on deaf ears. Just like she did with Kakashi, Tsunami forced Naruto to listen to her. The blonde groaned, but obeyed nevertheless.

Sakura was worried about Naruto, and was about to go check on him, but Kakashi gestured for her to stay. "Naruto will need lots of rest, and I need to discuss the training with you two. If Naruto is better by tomorrow s…he will join you for the training." Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but continued listening. "You will lead the training, Sakura."

"Eh? What?" Sakura was confused. Did she mishear something? He couldn't possibly be asking her to lead their training. Both Naruto and Sasuke were stronger than her! She was kind of reluctant to admit it but Naruto, the dead last, was in act stronger than her. "He-he, nice joke, Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura's voice was filled with confusion.

"You proved to me during the fight with Zabuza that you have amazing _chakra_ control. You managed to, somewhat, walk on water. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke could have accomplished that. And seeing as I'm still recovering, you will have to be their _sensei_. Of course, I'll be there to supervise you, and explaining how it's done, but it will be up to you to show the others how to do it."

Sakura was taken aback. She didn't think water walking was that big of a deal; she'd seen how Zabuza and Kakashi had fought after he'd been freed. They had sprinted around on the water like it was nothing.

Kakashi began to explain to the two what kind of training they would do. They weren't going to walk on water, but on trees… using only their feet. He told them how water walking and tree climbing used the same principal, but that the latter was easier. He was sure that Sakura would be able to master this in no-time, and told her to instruct her teammates, as they were bound to fail more than once. He ended his explanation by calling the girl 'Sakura- _sensei'_ making her blush once more.

They had just finished discussing their training when the door opened. In the doorway stood a small boy, who couldn't be any older than 7 or 8 years old. The young child wore a white hat with blue stripes, and sported spiky black hair under it. His eyes had the same color as his mothers, but unlike hers his were cold and solemn.

"Who are you?" the boy asked with an emotionless voice, and a look of cynicism.

"Oh, Inari! Where have you been? Come give your grandpa a hug." The old man stretched his arms out, and Inari ran up to him, giving him a hug. The child still gave the _Konoha_ team the same look, something that Tazuna missed. The old man was busy ruffling his grandchild's hair in an affectionate manner.

"They are ninja from _Konoha_ , Inari. They are going to protect your grandpa against Gatō." Tsunami, who had just finished helping Naruto, said as she walked up to her son and gave him a hug.

Inari was quiet for a bit, before pointing at the group. What he said surprised the group, though the only one who visibly showed it was Sakura. He boy claimed that they had no chance at beating Gatō, and that they were sure to die. The kid ran up to his room as shortly after. Tsunami apologized for her son's behavior, but the _Konoha_ team assured her that it was fine.

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Naruto had been forced to bed by Tsunami, much against her will. It was obvious that the young mother cared for her well-being, so Naruto had let the woman do what she wanted. Tsunami had told the blonde to remove her jacket. The blonde had argued, saying that she was fine, trying her best to keep her tracksuit on. It didn't work. In the end the young _kunoichi_ sat on the _futon_ without her orange jacket, with a shocked Tsunami in front of her. But Tsunami's face softened soon, and she smiled at the blonde.

"I see. That's why your _sensei_ wished for me to take you into your own room." She had seen the chest bindings on the girl, and figured out the rest by herself. The young girl in front of her seemed to have her reasons for hiding her gender, and Tsunami respected that.

"Don't worry, Naruto-chan," the young mother smiled warmly at Naruto, causing Naruto's stiff shoulders to relax, "if you want to keep it a secret you can count on me. I will patch your jacket, and get you some fresh bandage." The blonde shook her head, telling the woman that she had brought some extra herself.

"Alright, but if you still need some I'll be happy to help you. Remember, no one will come in here without your consent, and if you need anything else, you just have to let me know." She gave the blonde one of her spare shirts, and with a smile she left the room.

Before putting on her new shirt, Naruto unwrapped her chest bindings and a pair of modest buds appeared. She groped herself, and sighed. 'They've gotten bigger.' She felt a bit conflicted. She was comfortable as a boy, but a small part of her longed to be acknowledged as a girl, and, Naruto thought, what was more womanly than bigger breasts?

It felt refreshing to remove the bindings that covered her chest. Being a ninja was hard work, so it got stuffy very quick. So far, they had only been doing missions inside the village, which had allowed her to change when it got too stuffy, but it had been different this time. They had fought two battles, and travelled quite far from _Konoha_ , and with her team around she had had no time to change into her extra bandages she had packed.

The girl unpacked the bandages, but hesitated. Tsunami had told her that no one would enter her room, so she didn't really have to use the bandages now. It would be nice to sleep without them. Tsunami had also told her that she would bring the blonde some dinner later. Naruto decided against wrapping her chest. She took the bright blue shirt she got from Tsunami, pulled it on, and laid down under her _futon_. She had complained about not being tired, but it didn't take too long for the blonde to start snoring.

She awoke a few hours later, and looked around. The sky was dark, indicating that it was nighttime. Naruto noticed a tray standing on a table next to her. On the tray stood a cup of water, and a bowl of porridge. There was a note on the tray, telling the _kunoichi_ to eat it as soon as she wakes up. It was signed with the name _Tsunami_. Naruto smiled to herself, and began eating. It had gotten cold, but she didn't mind. It was a rare occasion for the blonde, to be able to eat someone else's cooking.

Even since the blonde had joined Team 7 her life had drastically improved. She got treated more than often to _ramen_ , her teammates seemed to actually care for her, and even though her _sensei_ was a perverted freak, he truly cared for her well-being. She smiled to herself, and continued eating.

She had just about finished when she heard some sniveling. It seemed to come from the room next door. She moved closer to the wall, put her ear on it, and listened closely. It sounded like… a child. The sobbing reminded her of herself when she was young.

Naruto wasn't proud to admit it, but she had cried _a lot_ as a child. Not so much in the public eye. She had done so a few times, and every time she did she was bullied even more than usual. It all ended up with the girl acting like a happy idiot whenever people watched, only to cry during the night when she was alone. But it had changed when she had entered the Academy. She did still cry at times, but as she grew older and stronger she cried less and less. And ever since she became a _Genin_ she'd only cried a couple of times. Most of those times had been out of joy.

She moved away from the wall, and went towards her door. Naruto peeked her head out, and looked around. She didn't see anyone around, figuring that they were most likely asleep. It had been a long day for Team 7. The blonde moved quietly towards the door from where the sobbing came. She knocked lightly, but no answer. She slid the door open, and saw a young boy, sitting on a desk, looking down at something. The window was open, and you could see the ocean clearly.

Inari had heard someone knocking and opening his door, but he hadn't been able to stop crying. He tried suppressing his sobs, but to no avail. He was usually left alone at this hour, which allowed him to cry his heart out. The young child didn't want anyone seeing his tears, so he made no attempt to acknowledge whoever was behind him. He just wanted to be left alone, and hoped that whoever was there would leave.

A few moments passed, and the door closed. Inari was thankful that whoever had been there had left, and his sobbing grew louder once more. But he soon stiffened, as he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. The boy turned around, ready to yell at whoever it was to get out and leave him alone, but stopped as soon as he laid eyes upon the intruder. A girl, with short, unruly blonde hair was looking at him with the saddest, bluest eyes he'd ever seen. The girl wasn't wearing any _hitai-ate,_ like the guests downstairs had been wearing, so he didn't think that she was from _Konoha_. He recognized the shirt that the blonde was wearing as his mothers.

Before he could ask her who she was, he was enveloped in a tight hug, and felt a quiet voice soothing him. There was something special about this girl… like she knew exactly what he felt like. It was as if she shared his grief and sorrow. Inari surprised himself when he burrowed his head in the girl's chest, and poured his eyes out.

Naruto wasn't sure why she had hugged the boy. Something inside of her had told her to comfort the crying child, and as if acting on instinct, she had taken the kid in her arms. She had been a bit surprised at first, when he turned around with anger and sorrow in his eyes, but she quickly recognized the look on his face. She recognized it all too well. His eyes had been very much like hers when she had been a kid, and she wouldn't wish her childhood onto her worst enemy. So she'd taken the young boy into her arms, and just soothed him.

It took a while, but Inari eventually ran out of tears. They separated, and the blonde shot the young boy a warm smile. They started chatting a bit, introducing themselves. Inari went first, telling the blonde that he was Tsunami's son, and that Tazuna was his grandfather.

Naruto told the boy that she was indeed from _Konoha,_ but had been forced to bed by Tsunami due to her injury. The boy had been surprised that she was a ninja, and felt a bit conflicted about the whole thing. He didn't want this girl to die fighting Gatō; there was no doubt in his mind that the wealthy scumbag was unbeatable.

Naruto was happy to see a smile on the boy's face when she told him about what his mother had done, but was replaced with sadness when she saw his conflicted expression at her being a ninja. The boy seemed to have some sort of trauma, something that Naruto had noticed as soon as she saw the boy's eyes. At first, she thought it had to do with ninjas, or perhaps with _Konoha_. She voiced her concern, and waited for Inari to reply.

What Inari told her just strengthened her resolve. Gatō had murdered Inari's adoptive father, Kaiza, in cold-blood, and Inari had been forced to watch! She cursed Gatō mentally, and made a promise to herself to take the man down. Naruto was a girl who usually thought the best of people, but Gatō was one of the few people she truly despised.

Inari had met Kaiza when he was very young. Kaiza had saved him one day from drowning. Inari started to idolize Kaiza, as did the rest of _Nami no Kuni_. Kaiza started teaching the young Inari everything he knew, and the most important lesson he taught Inari was to protect the things precious to him. Just like Inari, Tsunami had taken a liking to Kaiza, and they both soon got married, making Kaiza an official part of their family.

The young man was often called a hero in _Nami no Kuni._ He once saved the village from destruction when a dam door broke down during a storm. He managed to swim against the current, and somehow close the door, saving the village from imminent destruction.

When Gatō came to _Nami no Kuni,_ Kaiza had tried to stop him. The man had lived and died by his teachings. Gatō decided to make an example out of the hero of _Nami no Kuni_. He had his thugs chop off Kaiza's arms, and then executed him in public. It had been the perfect scare tactic to take over _Nami no Kuni_. It had worked for the most part, though some people still tried resisting, like Tazuna. Inari however, had been scarred for life.

The boy had changed drastically. He never smiled or laughed anymore. Instead, he became angry and cold during the day and sad during the night. His mother and grandfather had done their best to keep the boy safe, and to make him happy again, but it was hard. Inari had truly believed in Kaiza's teachings, so when he had died Inari blamed him, believing that Kaiza had broken his promise to protect them.

"Don't fight Gatō, neechan," the young boy began sobbing again, "don't throw your life away. No one can beat Gatō." He had pushed his head into her chest again, not wanting to show his tears. He felt her arms wrap around him again, hoping that his pleas had reached her.

"Inari. Gatō will be taken down by us. I believe your father was right; if you have someone important to you, you need to protect them with everything you got." She removed one hand from the boy's back, and used it to comb through his hair.

Inari stiffened, having trouble believing the girl. After Kaiza's death, he had trouble trusting anyone. But the blonde's words gave the boy courage, much like Kaiza had done. Maybe… just maybe… he could trust her. He continued listening to the girl, instead of interrupting like he usually did when people talked like that.

"Make me a promise, Inari," the girl pulled out of the hug, and wiped the boy's face before putting her hands on his shoulders, "don't waste anymore tears on sad memories. You should only shed tears when you're happy. You still have your mother and your grandfather, both who loves you very much." She paused for a moment, and kissed the boys forehead. "And you have me. I will protect you and your village from Gatō."

She knew for sure why she'd consoled the young boy. She saw herself in him. When she'd been at her darkest hour, a masked man had appeared, and changed her life. He had saved her, and made her believe a better future was possible. Thanks to him and the old geezer she'd been able to survive, and even more. She was able to meet Umino Iruka, Teuchi and Ayame, Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura… and even Uchiha Sasuke. She was a bit reluctant to admit that she considered Sasuke important, but she did.

And now it was her time to save this boy. This boy was lost in despair. He had lost his ability to trust in people. She wanted to save him. She was _going_ to save him. Her mind was made up, and no one would be able to stop her. The masked boy, Zabuza, nor Gatō were going to stop her.

Inari finally nodded in consent. He felt like crying again, but did his best to hold back his tears. He had promised her not to cry, and in return she would save their village from Gatō. They shared a moment of silence together, neither one feeling like talking was necessary. Inari fell asleep shortly thereafter, and Naruto decided to carry the boy to his bed, before slipping out of his room, and into her own.

A silver-haired man could be seen, sitting on a roof in _Nami no Kuni_. He closed his book, and looked out over the sea. A smile could be seen on his face, even though he wore a mask. Silently like the wind, he slid back into the quiet house, and went to bed feeling proud of his student.

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 **Yeah, I'm not sure how good I am at writing, but I enjoy it. Dunno if I made it to OOC, I hope not, but who knows. I enjoyed writing Tsunami as a woman of strong-will.**

 **There are also quite a few things that's different from canon in here, but I hope you like it.**

 **Haku will be female in this story. She will** _ **probably**_ **play a bigger part. Not saying what, but I have an idea of what to do.**

 **I've gotten quite a few reviews already. Well, to me it was more than what I expected, at least. A few people have been asking about training. Canon training was indeed very slow. I intend to give the main characters some better training.**

 **I mean, take Sakura for example. She was one of the top** _ **kunoichi**_ **in their year, one of the smartest. She was told she had great chakra control, and a natural aptitude for genjutsu. But she was sort of forgotten before time-skip. I intend to give her, what I think, a better role in the Team.**

 **As for Sasuke and Naruto, they'll get some different training as well. But I don't want to spoil too much.**

 **As for their affinities… nothing is set in stone yet. Haven't decided anything yet, as the story is only beginning.**

 **If you have any other questions or concerns, let me know. I'll my best explaining it to you.**

 **On another note, I'm a bit surprised at the attention I've gotten for this fic. I don't really know how many reviews/favorites/follows people usually get, but it was more than I expected that's for sure. I'm happy that most of you seems to enjoy it. I'm also a bit embarrassed at the thought of people reading what I write though, lol. BUT ANYWAY.**

 **Sorry for my rambling. Said in chapter one that I'm not sure what to write here, but I guess I know now, lol.**


	4. Chapter 3: Building bridges

_Drip, drip, drop._

 _Drip, drip, drop_

 _Naruto rubbed her eyes as she awoke from last night's sleep. Or at least that's what she thought. When she opened her eyes and sat up, she noticed that she was sitting in water, and a dripping noise could be heard; the same noise she had heard in her sleep._

 _It was strange though. She was sitting in water, yet she was not feeling wet. She looked around. It was dark and seemed damp, but then again she did not feel the dampness. It was as if she was there, but not there at the same time._

' _I'm still asleep, huh…' the blonde thought as she stood up. It was dark, so she had to wait for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. It took a couple of seconds, but the girl was soon fully aware of her surroundings. There were pipes tracing along the ceiling and water was dripping from some of said pipes. She followed the pipes with her eyes, only for them to be enveloped in even darker darkness. She turned around, and traced the pipes once more. Darkness again. It was impossible for the girl to see very far in the dark tunnel._

 _But at least it wasn't completely devoid of light. The walls and ceiling gave off some sort of reddish light. Naruto wasn't sure how they did that, since there were no lamps or anything, but she didn't let it bother her. It was just a dream, so random lighting wasn't all that weird. But pairing the tunnel she was in with the pipes and water the place almost seemed like… a sewer?_

 _Naruto wasn't proud to admit it, but she'd been down in the sewers of Konoha plenty of times. She had found it was a great place to escape people chasing after her. The sheer smell down the sewers was enough to keep the civilians and the lower-tiered ninjas off her back. They probably didn't think it was worth chasing the demon brat in some sewers anyway. In fact, they wished she'd stay down the sewers all the time. It had even happened more than once that they would block the exits out of the sewers, forcing Naruto to stay down the sewers even longer._

 _But that was another thing that sort of baffled Naruto. There was no smell down here. Sure, her first thought had been that she was sleeping still and that this was all a dream… but she wasn't sure anymore. She felt very much awake, and very much aware. Her mind began to wander, and she came up with the idea of a genjutsu instead of a dream._

 _Naruto was terrible when it came to genjutsu. She knew the hand-seals and everything for genjutsu, so she decided to try dispelling any potential genjutsu._

" _Kai!"_

 _But nothing happened. Naruto wasn't really expecting anything to happen anyway. If it was indeed a genjutsu she wouldn't be able to dispel it herself. But then again, she was terrible at genjutsu, so would she even be able to think she was in a genjutsu if she actually was trapped in one?_

 _Naruto rubbed her temples in pain. Thinking all of that was not good for the girl. She decided to just play things by ear, genjutsu or not. 'Begin with analyzing the situation you're in.' the girl thought._

 _She had no recollection of going into any sewers, but she was much too aware of things for it to be just a dream, and she wasn't good enough at genjutsu to recognize it being one. Something wasn't right here. But instead of standing around doing nothing, she decided to look around. She started walking. It was a strange feeling, walking in water without feeling wet. She chuckled quietly to herself._

 _Naruto kept on walking, not really knowing for how long she had been walking. It was as if her sense of time had vanished. But she did start feeling a bit differently, yet familiar. It was a feeling she had felt before. A feeling of power…_

 _But she didn't have enough time to think about that. The water had started to turn redder and redder the further she went, almost like the color of the walls and ceiling._

 _Boom._

 _The girl stopped abruptly, and listened. She could've sworn she heard something._

 _Crash._

 _Something sinister… yet strangely familiar._

 _She started walking again, faster this time. Naruto was unsure of why, but she wanted to know the source of the sound. Wanted to know where she was, and what this familiar feeling was. She began jogging… running… but she didn't get anywhere. She was still stuck in the same corridor. It was frustrating._

 _It was getting heavier and heavier for the blonde to lift her legs. She looked down, and the water had indeed risen, and was rising even more by the minute. But it was something else that got her interest. She saw herself in the water… but she was different. She was…_

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Cerulean eyes was once again visible to the world. The blonde awoke, feeling refreshed. It had been a hectic first day of their mission to _Nami no Kuni_. Team 7 had been forced to fight two battles, one against two _Chūnin nuke-nin_ and one against a _Jōnin nuke-nin._

The first battle had been against the Demon Brothers, Meizu and Gouzu. It had been a fairly even fight, where Sasuke and Naruto got matched against one of each, while Sakura had guarded Tazuna, their client. Kakashi had been taken out, but his demise had been an act in order to test Team 7's strengths and weaknesses. He had, of course, been nearby in case something serious would have happened.

And something had happened. It was nothing life threatening, but it could have been dangerous. Naruto had, subconsciously, let out some of the _Kyūbi's chakra_ in order to help Sasuke. It had all worked out in the end, though Naruto had gotten cut and poisoned.

He had scared the blonde a bit, but her injury and the poison wasn't enough to kill her. In addition to his almost non-existent _Iryō Ninjutsu_ the girl had the _Kyūbi no Yoko_ sealed within her, which wouldn't let the blonde die that easily.

The second battle had proved more challenging. They had been up against Zabuza, also known as _Kirigakure no Kijin_.In the end, Team 7 had prevailed after displaying great teamwork _._ However, Zabuza had ultimately managed to escape his demise.

As Kakashi was about to end the _nuke-nin's_ life, the defeated man's neck had been pierced by a few _senbon_. The muscular man had collapsed, and appeared to be dead. Kakashi had even checked his pulse, and there was none. The one responsible for the _senbon_ had later carried the man away, with the intention to dispose the body. Kakashi had thanked the masked boy for his help, and they had been on their way.

It wasn't until Team 7 had reached their client's house that Kakashi noticed something was amiss. He had told his team about his concerns, and they had all agreed that it was better to be safe rather than sorry. They were going to train for the next week, until both Kakashi and Zabuza had recovered.

Naruto sat up in her _futon_ , and looked out. It was still early, and she could hear the seagulls cry. She stood up, put her _futon_ away, and opened the window. Her nose twitched, and her hair was fluttering as she was hit by the sea breeze. It had a distinct smell of fish and brine, something she had never smelled inside the walls of _Konoha_.

It was a beautiful sight indeed. Seagulls flying in the air, the water glittering like crystals, the sun shining and a few clouds coloring the bright blue sky. If the blonde had had any artistic talent, this scene would have been immortalized on a canvas.

Naruto was in a sort of trance as she kept her gaze on the sea. Her previous dream, or whatever it had been, had been forgotten as soon as she woke up. However it was still there, somewhere in the back of the girl's mind, but she had problem accessing it as she was oblivious to what it actually was.

She was pulled out of her trance as soon as a new smell entered her nose. It was the smell of… _miso._ She left her window slightly open, and moved towards her door. She opened it, and as soon as she did the smell of food got stronger. She heard some voices downstairs as well, signaling that it was probably breakfast time.

As she was about to go downstairs, she noticed her orange jacket hanging just outside of her door. She had completely forgotten about that! Tsunami had forced the girl out of her usual attire last night, as it had been torn in her battle with the Demon Brothers. The young mother had told Naruto that she would patch up her jacket, and sure enough the jacket was fixed. Naruto inspected it, and it was good as new.

She quickly grabbed it, and closed her door. She remembered last night, how she met the young boy Inari, and how they had sort of bonded. She smiled as she removed the shirt she had borrowed from Tsunami, and re-wrapped her chest. It was a bit harder to breathe with the chest bindings, but she had gotten used to it by now. It didn't really bother her all that much.

After a few deep breaths Naruto began to put on her bright orange jacket, but something was different about it. The jacket smelled… no, not smelled. It had a soft fragrance of lilies. A very feminine fragrance. With a silent prayer that no one would notice, she went downstairs to join the rest.

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"Training, training, I like training," the blonde hummed as Team 7 walked through the forest. They had left Tazuna's home earlier that morning, Naruto included. The blonde had recovered from yesterday's injury, though she hadn't really needed to rest that much in the first place. Kakashi had explained to her what they would be doing until he and Zabuza recovered. Training. The blonde had shouted in excitement at the thought of training.

Sure, Naruto had been a tiny bit skeptical first when Kakashi had explained that Sakura would be their teacher, but she had quickly changed her mind when Kakashi had told her what kind of training they would do. The pink-haired _kunoichi_ had proven that she indeed did have what it takes to be a true _kunoichi_ during their fight with Zabuza. She had been able to run on the water, though sloppily, something that neither Naruto nor Sasuke could. And Kakashi would be with them as well, if things didn't work out, though Naruto was convinced at this point that Sakura would do a good job.

The four of them reached a small clearing in the forest. The weather was still nice, just like it had been earlier than morning. It had gotten a bit warmer outside, but it didn't really bother any of them. At least not yet. You could also see the water, flowing just outside of the clearing. _Nami no Kuni_ would be an idyllic place to live, if it wasn't for Gatō.

After looking around the clearing a bit, Kakashi motioned for his team to gather around him. They came up to him from different directions, each of them having inspected a different area. It had been an order from Kakashi, to investigate the area and make sure it was safe. They did not want to be ambushed by Gatō's thugs or worse. It was a basic ninja rule, to make sure no enemy got the jump on you.

The _Jōnin_ explained once more what they were going to do, this time in more detail than before. He began explaining about _chakra,_ and how important it was to learn how to control it properly. He met Naruto's gaze, and the blonde felt that those words were particularly meant for her. She did not have good _chakra_ control. It had been evident when she tried the _Bunshin no Jutsu_ during her Academy exams. Naruto had failed those completely. She was a bit deflated, but also motivated. This was something she needed to improve on!

"… so in short, you'll climb the tree by focusing a fixed amount of _chakra_ to the bottom of your feet. Not too much, and not too little. It's crucial to know how much _chakra_ to use," Kakashi waved his hand towards one of the many trees, "Sakura, if you would demonstrate please."

The pinkette gulped, but nodded, and walked towards one of the trees. She closed her eyes, and focused. She put one foot on the tree, and felt her _chakra_ gathering at the bottom of her foot. The girl was careful, not putting in too much _chakra_ at once. A few seconds of silenced passed, but she soon felt her foot sticking to the tree. Her body relaxed, and her breathing was slow and steady. Sakura raised her other foot of the ground, and placed it above her other foot and began walking up the tree, slow and steady.

Kakashi smiled under his mask, Naruto just stood there with wide eyes and mouth agape, and Sasuke was as stoic as ever.

"That's amazing, Sakura-chan!" Sakura looked down from all the way up the tree when she heard Naruto shouting. She was happy to be praised, but part of her hoped that it would have been _Sasuke-kun_ and not Naruto praising her. Nevertheless, the girl was proud of herself and smiled as she watched the blonde run towards the tree next to her.

Naruto reached the tree next to Sakura, and immediately began to mimic what the pinkette had done. She closed her eyes, put one foot up to begin with, and focused her _chakra_ to the bottom of her foot. The blonde waited a couple of seconds, just like Sakura, and continued focusing her _chakra_. But sadly for the blonde she failed to realize the amount of _chakra_ she was pouring into the bottom of her foot. As soon as the girl tried lifting her other foot she was propelled backwards.

She flew a couple of meters before crashing into the ground, and rolled a little further away until she stopped. That she had not expected. She had truly believed that she would be able to walk at least a few steps up the tree, and then fall down. Being sent flying backwards had not been something she had been worried about.

"As expected of you, _dobe_ ," Sasuke had decided to take this opportunity to mock the blonde. He was sure that this was something he could do better than the blonde. Well, to be honest he was sure that he could do _everything_ better than the blonde.

"Shut up _teme_ ," the girl said as she stood up, rubbing her now sore back. She walked up to the same tree with the intention of trying again, but stopped as soon as she arrived. Instead of trying again she inspected the tree. Her foot had caused some damage to the tree, leaving a mark.

"I bet you can't cause this kind of damage with just the bottom of your foot, _Sasuke-chan_ ," she smirked playfully at the raven-haired boy and pointed towards her tree. Naruto had failed to climb the tree properly, but had learned something else. Focusing just a larger portion of _chakra_ couldcause a lot of damage. She wondered if she could utilize it somehow.

"What's the point of doing damage if you'll take the same amount of damage yourself, _dobe_? I'd rather climb the tree properly," he walked towards the tree next to Naruto, the girl now being in the middle of the three _Genin_. Sasuke did not imitate Sakura and Naruto. Instead of taking his time and concentrating, he began running. He managed to take a few steps up the tree, but soon felt himself lose his footing. He was forced to jump down, but did so gracefully, and landed on his feet.

"Better than you," he looked over at Naruto with a smug look on his face. The girl frowned, and prepared to run up her own tree, but was stopped as soon as she heard her _sensei_ talking.

"Now, now," the man pulled out a couple of _kunai_ , and threw them at the ground in front of his bickering students. "Use these to mark your progress. Whoever of you two has gotten the highest at the end of the week… will receive something that will help your training," Kakashi decided to use their rivalry and the prospect of a prize in hope of making them both improve faster.

Naruto and Sasuke faced each other and had a brief staring contest. It only lasted a couple of seconds. They quickly grabbed a _kunai_ each and ran towards their respective trees. Sasuke managed to take a few steps up the tree, just like before. He marked the tree with a slash before jumping off.

Naruto, who had tried running up the tree just like Sasuke, had failed. But instead of being shot backwards by her _chakra_ , this time she just fell down as soon as she tried running up the tree. Her feet didn't stick at all. She cursed under her breath as she stood up once more. She saw how far Sasuke had gotten. The sight of his mark got her even more fired up. She was going to beat him!

Sakura watched the two boys, or at least she thought it was two boys, trying to beat each other. It was obvious that _Sasuke-kun_ was winning! She continued to gaze at the raven-haired boy with affectionate eyes. But Naruto was making so much noise that it was hard for the pinkette to concentrate on the mysterious Uchiha.

Kakashi had been silent while watching his two students trying to outdo one another. Sasuke was doing fine, improving one step at a time, but Naruto had a hard time controlling her _chakra_. It was no surprise to the _Jōnin_ though. The blonde had a massive amount of _chakra_ as well as a demonic fox sealed inside of her, making it harder than usual. The girl would need some pointers. Kakashi gestured for Sakura to climb down, which she did as soon as her eyes left Sasuke.

"Sakura- _sensei_ , please teach your students how to master the tree climbing exercise."

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Hiding deep inside the forest of _Nami no Kuni_ were two _nuke-nin._ They were currently residing inside a relatively big wooden building. The building was elevated in the air, using the trees around it as beams.

One of the _nuke-nin_ was lying in a bed, while the other was carefully watching over the bedridden one.

Zabuza and Haku had been resting at their hideout in _Nami no Kuni_ for about a day now, ever since they had met and fought with Kakashi and his group. Zabuza had tried to kill Tazuna but had failed, and had been forced to retreat. Or well, Haku, his _tool,_ had helped him escape.

The muscular man, the one lying in bed, had sustained several severe injuries. He had been slammed into a tree with great force, impaled by a few _kunai_ and pierced in the neck by few _senbon,_ the last injury coming from Haku. The _senbon_ had been a means to save the Zabuza _,_ but had left him weak and vulnerable. He would need another week of rest if he was to kill the bridge-builder Tazuna. To be honest, that wasn't really true. He could have easily killed the old man had said old man been alone, but Tazuna had Kakashi and his team. So killing the bridge-builder would have to wait.

Haku stiffened and readied a few _senbon_ in her hand as she heard the main-door open. Three men were slowly walking through the door into the large room where Zabuza and Haku resided. One of them were short, another was of normal height and the third was fairly tall.

The tallest man was standing to the left of the shortest one. His face was scarred and he wore an eye-patch over his right eye. He had the look of a warrior of many battles. The man had a small brown beard as well as brown hair which was tied with several knots.

His bare torso and arms were covered in several tattoos. One tattoo could also been seen on his leg, just below where his striped _hakama_ ended. The look wouldn't be complete without a weapon, and sure enough a large _katana_ was attached to the man's hip. He was one of Gatō's personal bodyguards, Waraji.

On the right of the short man stood another warrior. This man didn't have the rugged look like the tall man did. No, he had a thinner face and a leaner body, but his glare was just as nasty as his partner's. He was quite the opposite of the other warrior, excluding their eyes and weapon of choice.

Just like his companion, he had a _katana_ attached to his hip. But instead of showing his bare chest he wore a much too large jacket and a cap. It looked like he was visiting _Yuki no Kuni,_ not _Nami no Kuni_. You could spot his shoulder-length gray hair under his cap. He was another of Gatō's personal bodyguards, Zouri.

The tiny man between the two warriors was indeed the shipping magnate Gatō. He had a disgusting grin on his face, one of pure malice, befitting a man of his reputation. A pair of black glasses blocked his eyes from view, but they were sure to be just as nasty as his grin was. He had brown, puffy hair and could be seen wearing a black suit with a purple tie. If you were to describe him in just a few words it would be 'a classic villain.'

"Tsk, I thought _Kirigakure no Kijin_ would be stronger, but it turns out that he's pretty pathetic," the small man snarled. Zabuza made no attempt to answer or even acknowledge the short man. He had let a few brats get under his skin just the day before and look where it had got him. He would not let Gatō's insults get the better of him.

The two bodyguards moved in front of Gatō and readied their swords. But neither Zabuza nor Haku moved. However, Haku was ready to intervene in case they dared to try anything. She was not in the best of moods. It was hard to be in a good mood around Gatō, after all.

"Nah, wait a second," the shipper motioned for his bodyguards to take a step back. "Don't you dare ignore me, Zabu…," Gatō was reaching towards Zabuza, but before he could grab a hold of the man or even finish his sentence Haku gripped his wrist.

"Don't you dare touch him with your filthy hands," she hissed at the short man. Her eyes had lost their usual kindness, and were instead radiating hatred for the old man. She tightened her grip around Gatō's wrist. A loud yell and several cracking sounds filled the air.

Zouri and Waraji were about to fully draw their _katana,_ but were left gripping nothing. In between them stood the girl, holding two _katana_ against their throats. She had moved faster than the three of them could see, and had even disarmed them before they even managed to fully draw their weapons. They were both dumbfounded at the speed and strength of the girl. Gatō had no time to be startled by Haku as he was busy screaming in pain.

"You better leave. I'm angry right now," the girl's expression had worsened, if that was even possible. She emitted a dangerous aura, and let the _katana_ slightly cut the throats of the bodyguards. It was not life threating, but a few drops dripped onto the floor. It was enough for them to know that she was being serious.

Gatō, who by now had ran towards the door, was clutching his broken wrist and cursing at the girl. His bodyguards were soon next to him, leaving their _katana_ to the girl. They did not want to risk angering her further.

"I-I'll le-let you g-get away with it this t-time, but don't yo-you d-dare fail m-me a s-second t-time!" Gatō was in pain and was on the verge of wetting his pants, so his threat wasn't all that threatening. Especially considering his stuttering. The short man tried his best at being intimidating, but it had failed miserably. The three of them quickly left the hideout when Haku glared at them once more.

Zabuza eased his grip of the _kunai_ he was hiding under his cover. He had been prepared to kill Gatō, but Haku had stopped him. They had to be patient to successfully complete their mission. Not their mission from Gatō, but their true mission. The shipping magnate was just the stepping stone for the two _nuke-nin_.

The bedridden man looked over at his _tool,_ whose expression now had changed. She once again radiated her usual kindness, and smiled at the bedridden man.

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Sakura was panting excessively and feeling completely exhausted. They had been training for hours now, and her _chakra_ and stamina was not limitless, unlike her two companions. She couldn't believe that they were still doing the tree climbing exercise.

Naruto wasn't improving all that much, but the blonde had managed to take a few steps up the tree at least. Every single step towards the top seemed to give the blonde new powers.

Sasuke was faring far better. The Uchiha had managed to climb about halfway up the tree, and he had managed it in a short amount of time. However, over the last hour or so Sasuke hadn't managed to improve one bit. He could see the blonde slowly catching up to him, and it frustrated him.

The pinkette had explained to her two teammates how _she_ focused _her_ _chakra,_ and _her_ trick of mastering the tree climbing exercise. Sasuke had listened nonchalantly to her explanation, while Naruto had been just as enthusiastic as always. They sure had some unique personalities Sakura had mused.

The _kunoichi_ had, after explaining to the two of them, moved over towards the water. She had been instructed by Kakashi to work on her water walking rather than her tree climbing. It was harder, but well worth it when you had mastered it. Not only would she be able to run and fight on top of the water properly, she would also be able to utilize every little bit of _chakra_ in her body to the max.

But what the silver-haired _Jōnin_ had failed to tell her was the amount of times she would fall into the water. She was absolutely dripping wet at this point! Her clothes were sticking to her skin in an uncomfortable way, but she was too exhausted to move back to the house to change her clothes. She settled with sitting down instead, leaning against one of the many trees while watching the other two compete with each other.

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Kakashi had left his _Genin_ on their own a while ago, after making sure that they were doing everything right. To be honest, he hadn't had to do that much. Sakura had proved to be an effective teacher. Kakashi hadn't left it up to Sakura due to being lazy though, it had been quite the opposite. He wanted to strengthen Team 7's teamwork. He believed that making them work together, as well as train together, would make them much stronger. They needed to be able to trust each other unconditionally.

The silver-haired _Jōnin_ had to protect their client as well, who was working on the bridge. Sure, he was injured, but he doubted Gatō would send another _shinobi_ after them. Kakashi would be able to protect the old man against a few thugs while being injured, but the shipping magnate would probably not bother sending anyone other than Zabuza, and said _nuke-nin_ was still recovering. He estimated that the risk of encountering an enemy before the week was over was almost non-existent.

There were quite a few people working on the bridge, something that surprised Kakashi. From the sounds of it the people of _Nami no Kuni_ were very scared of Gatō and wouldn't dare defying the man in any way. Yet here they were, working on the bridge, which was an act against the evil little man. But the overall mood on the bridge wasn't very good. The workers all looked tired and frightened, as if they thought Gatō and his thugs would jump them any second now.

But Kakashi couldn't blame them and he was sure that the old man would let them leave the bridge if they just asked. Tazuna might have argued a bit before letting them go, but the old man was always thinking of what was best for _Nami no Kuni_ and its people. If someone felt unsafe working on the bridge, which most of them most likely did, they would be allowed to leave. But Kakashi knew that Tazuna himself would never leave. He was glad, because that made the mission worthwhile doing. If the client himself would have given up on the bridge because _Konoha_ was present, he would have lost his respect for the old man. Luckily Tazuna had his heart in the right place, and fought as hard as he could against Gatō to free his country.

"So, how are your kids doing?" the old man asked. He had been present when Kakashi had explained about the training they were supposed to do, but the old man hadn't understood much more than just training. He didn't really get all this _chakra_ stuff. "Are you sure you can leave them alone?"

Kakashi was sitting on the ledge of the bridge, leaning against the fence. He _was_ injured, so he was allowed to slack off a little bit. He closed his book and looked up at the old man, who was working hard, carrying building materials back and forth on the bridge.

"Well," the _Jōnin_ began, "Sakura is doing well. She did have good _chakra_ control to begin with, so this exercise should be easy enough for her," Tazuna would have been surprised if he hadn't seen the pinkette in the fight against Zabuza. The pinkette didn't look all that capable, but Tazuna knew by now that she was. He hadn't really taken her seriously when they ha first met, the same with the blonde. But they both had proven him wrong.

"As for Naruto and Sasuke… they are both stubborn enough not to lose to one another. They will be able to complete the training," Tazuna chuckled at Kakashi's response. He had noticed the rivalry between the two of them. It was a refreshing sight to see. The two of them would argue and bicker about the smallest of things, but they shared a bond with each other. Neither of them would admit it though. Heck, neither of them were probably aware of it yet.

"I must apologize, Kakashi-san. When I first laid my eyes upon your team I thought that they were just a trio of losers, and the fact that I had only paid for a C-ranked mission strengthened that belief," Kakashi just watched the old man without any particular expression on his face. He didn't really believe that the old man needed to apologize anymore, "But they are all very capable, and I'm sure that they will do great things," Kakashi smiled at the old man in agreement.

'You have great intuition, Tazuna-san,' the silver-haired _Jōnin_ thought as he relaxed and opened his book once more.

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Inari had been acting strange the whole day. He hadn't seemed as depressed as he used to be, even though he still didn't smile or talk much he seemed different. Tsunami was happy with the change, but wondered what had happened to her son. She had tried asking him, but didn't learn much. Another thing happened during dinner that evening that surprised the young woman.

The young boy, who often ate alone in his room, sat down next to Naruto during dinner. He didn't say anything. He just sat there waiting for dinner. Tazuna and Tsunami were both happy to have Inari joining them. Team 7 weren't aware of fact that Inari often ate alone, so they didn't really think it was anything unusual.

Naruto gave the boy a warm smile, who in turn did nothing, but his cheeks were slightly redder than before. Neither of the two of them had talked since last night, and they hadn't told anyone about their conversation either. Naruto had felt a little embarrassed at what she had done, as had Inari. The boy hadn't really known what to do. He hadn't felt this way in a long time. The last time was when Kaiza was still alive, and for a young boy like Inari that was a lifetime ago. He didn't really know how to act around the blonde, nor how to act around his mother or grandfather anymore. He couldn't just let go of the past just like that. It would take a bit longer for the boy to be able to be able to genuinely smile in front of others, but he felt like he was finally on the right way.

Everyone but Tsunami were sitting at the table. The woman had just finished cooking dinner, and was preparing the table. Sakura had offered to help her, but she had firmly declined. They were guests in her home and they were protecting her father. She would not allow them to do any sort of housework.

Tsunami barely had time to put the food down before Naruto started piling food on her plate. The blonde had no manners whatsoever. Team 7 were used to it by now, but Tazuna, Tsunami and even Inari were surprised. It wasn't that they were offended or anything, they were just surprised seeing the amount of food the blonde was piling up. Tsunami and Inari were both a bit more surprised than Tazuna, both of them knowing Naruto's gender. It sure wasn't a feminine way of eating. Not that Naruto was acting all that feminine to begin with.

"Oi, Naruto- _baka,_ show some manners!" Naruto felt a fist connect with her head, courtesy of Sakura. Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi were all used to this behavior by now. This happened every single time they went out to eat at Ichiraku's Ramen, but the pinkette had hoped that the blonde would show some restraint. These people weren't used to the blonde's antics after all.

"Buwf Shakursa-chawn," the blonde spoke with her mouth full, "I neewd to phinish fasht..." She wasn't able to finish her sentence. She felt another whack on her head, and saw Sakura glaring at her.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!"

Everyone, excluding two boys, laughed at the blonde and pinkette. Dinner at Tazuna's house hadn't been this lively in a long, long time. Even Inari had a small, almost non-noticeable, smile on his face, but it quickly disappeared. It wasn't replaced with a scowl though. His expression was more neutral than anything. Sasuke wasn't laughing nor smiling, but at least he didn't look too annoyed.

Naruto was used to people laughing at her in the Academy, and became stiff for a second, but she realized almost right away that they weren't laughing at her. They were laughing with her . The girl just rubbed the back of her neck, and smiled sheepishly before continuing wolfing down her food.

The blonde finished first, as expected, and had even asked for seconds, much to Sakura's dismay. Naruto being Naruto was able to finish her second serving even faster while the others were still busy eating their first portion. She was just about to ask for a third serving, but felt her stomach disagreeing with her. Naruto put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to not throw up. She managed to somehow keep her food down, but her face wasn't looking too good.

"Nice face, _dobe,_ " Sasuke, and everyone else, had noticed Naruto's face and her almost throwing up. Tsunami had left the table in order to get a bucket for the poor girl.

"Shut up, _te_ …" The girl wasn't able to finish her sentence. She felt like throwing up once more, and it showed on her face. Her efforts to keep herself from throwing up was in vain. The bucket, which Tsunami had placed next to the blonde, was slowly being filled.

Sakura was disgusted and furious at the same time, screaming at the blonde to show some manners and to stop eating like a pig. Kakashi had just put his face in his palm in a defeated manner. Tsunami was fussing over the blonde, Inari had a slight look of worry in his eyes, but avoided looking at the blonde and Tazuna was busy drinking _sake,_ not really noticing Naruto throwing up _._

"Naruto, the food won't run away. You should take it easy and eat slowly, it's better for you," the masked _Jōnin_ stated as he lifted his head from his palm. At this point he was more afraid of the blonde dying due to overeating or getting something stuck in her throat rather than being killed by enemy _shinobi._ He shrugged at the thought. 

The blonde coughed a couple of times after finishing throwing up, before turning to her _sensei_ with her trademark foxy grin on her face.

"I know that, Kakashi- _sensei_ ," she giggled a bit girlishly, something that raised a couple of eyebrows on her teammates, "but I need to get stronger so I can defeat Zabuza and Gatō! I made a promise after all."

Inari felt his heart ache. He wanted to believe that the blonde could defeat Gatō, but he was afraid of her getting hurt at the same time. He had seen what Gatō could do, and it wasn't pretty. He didn't want to think about whether or not the blonde would die. He left the table, avoiding eye-contact with everyone, and went up to his room.

Naruto, who had started shadow-boxing while still sitting at the table, again much to Sakura's dismay, noticed Inari getting up. She more or less knew how the boy felt, but decided against calling out to him. Inari was frail at the moment, and calling him out in front of everyone would probably just worsen his mood. It was one of the rare moments the blonde actually thought before doing something.

She had promised him before that she would free _Nami no Kuni_ from Gatō, and she did indeed intend to keep that promise. She stopped her silly boxing, and stood up. The blonde hadn't been able to eat a third bowl of food, but it didn't really matter right now. She went towards the door with firm steps and a look of determination, and told them all that she'd be back later.

There was a silence at the table for a couple of seconds. No one really knew why both youngsters suddenly went up and left. Tsunami and Tazuna had an inkling as of why Inari left, and Team 7 well… Naruto was Naruto, the number one surprising ninja. Who knew what that prankster was up to?

The silence was soon broken by Tsunami, who asked if Naruto would be okay alone. Kakashi assured the woman that Naruto was fully capable of taking care of herself. The pronoun was missed by both Sakura and Tazuna, but not by a certain raven-haired boy. He first figured that Kakashi just made a mistake, but soon questioned that thought.

He had seen Tsunami's relived face when Kakashi told her Naruto would be safe, meaning that she would have heard the pronoun as well, but the woman hadn't been surprised. Sasuke was smart for his age, and began putting two and two together. Naruto _had_ been treated differently by some people, and the blonde had been put to sleep by Tsunami alone…

'I'm probably just overanalyzing things,' he quickly dismissed the thought as silly, and continued eating at his own pace.

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A few days passed, and each day consisted of training, training and more training. Naruto had been able to train a bit more than Sasuke and had thanks to that caught up with the boy.

The blonde had gotten some extra training in during the evenings and nighttime, which had been unknown to the rest of her team, including Kakashi. But during the third day of training, Sasuke had finally confronted Naruto about the sudden increase in _chakra_ control. He had been somewhat surprised at the answer, but thinking back he really shouldn't have been. Naruto was crazy about training; the blonde wanted to become _Hokage_ after all, and all the late night "walks" were suspicious to begin with. Naruto had snuck out to train in order to surpass him. Sasuke was not about to let that happen, so when the blonde had left after dinner he had done the same.

They were currently dead-even, both of them close to reaching the top branches of the trees. But it was late evening of the third day, and both Naruto and Sasuke were panting and sweating in exhaustion. They had been training non-stop ever since dinner, and they were both feeling the weariness kicking in, but neither would back down.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other with eyes burning with rivalry, stubbornness and just a tad bit of respect. Neither of them would admit the latter though. A trail of dust formed behind them as they rushed towards their respective tree once more. The grass on the ground had started to wither due to them running back and forth so much, forming a sort of path.

Neither of them backed down as they rushed up their trees, but they were both exhausted so they couldn't make it very high. It didn't take long for them to fall back to the ground. They didn't even make it halfway up the tree, but as soon as they hit the ground they got back up again, ready to try again.

Another hour passed and the two of them could be seen on the ground, both of them on their backs with their feet and legs up against their respective tree. They weren't panting as much as before, but they were still tired.

"Had enough yet, _teme?_ " Naruto turned her head away from the night sky and faced the Uchiha. It had become a habit for her to call the boy _teme._ She did truly believe that he was a _teme,_ just not maybe as big of a _teme_ as she once thought. Naruto still thought that he was a stuck-up, cynical, arrogant bastard, but at the same time she knew that he was a hard-worker. She had also learned a little bit about the Uchiha Massacre, so she knew that the boy had had a hard time growing up as well. Still, he didn't need to be a _teme_ all the time!

"Hn," Sasuke just grunted as usual. He had missed out on two evenings of training, which had irritated him. The boy would usually take any and every chance he got at training, so why didn't he think of training after dinner like Naruto had? It was so frustrating for him to see the dead-last catching up to him. Heck, Naruto had managed to get even with him when it came to the tree climbing exercise.

Thinking of Naruto caused some mixed emotions to stir inside the boy. Naruto obviously kept some secrets from him, and from Team 7 in general, but the boy kept telling himself that he didn't care about that. 'The _dobe_ can do what he want as long as he don't get in my way.'

"Heeeeello, earth to Sasuke," Sasuke hadn't realized that he had been lost in thought for about a minute. Naruto's voice had finally registered with the Uchiha.

"What?" he scoffed, not really acknowledging the blonde. He kept his gaze up at the stars, but he didn't watch them. Sure, he _saw_ them, but only in a shallow, superficial way. Ever since the death of his clan that had been the ordinary way for Sasuke. He had one goal, and one goal only. He wouldn't let anything or anyone get in his way, and he had learned to keep people at bay by acting this way.

"Sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way, Sasuke- _kun_ ," she decided to belittle him, "but as I was saying, I'm going to go for a walk in the forest before I go back," Naruto stood up, and walked away without waiting for a reply. Not that she was expecting one to begin with. Without turning her head she spoke once more, "You better not follow me this time," she had soon disappeared into the dark forest.

"Hn, like I'd want to follow you, _dobe,"_ he quietly spoke to no-one as he was left alone.

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 _Nami no Kuni_ was a nation filled with many rivers and thick mangrove forests. Naruto had been walking through these forests the last couple of nights, and had even swum in the rivers to cool down after all her training. It had been during one of these explorations, as she would like to call them, that she had found a beautiful forest glade, which was where she was heading right now.

It didn't take all that long for the young girl to arrive. As soon as she entered the hidden glade she saw a river with crystal clear water. It wasn't a very deep river; if she stood up the water it would just reach up to her thighs. The whole area was covered by the famous mangrove of _Nami no Kuni_ , which made the place very hard to find. You couldn't see it from the outside. There were a couple of places where the mangrove wasn't as thick where you could enter the glade, but it was still very well hidden.

When she had first found the place she'd been ecstatic. The girl had never left _Konoha_ before, so exploring _Nami no Kuni_ and actually finding a beautiful place like the glade had been wonderful. It was like her own secret base!

She had found this place during the first night she had been out. The girl had felt exhausted after all the training, and felt like taking a bath however she had not wanted to bathe out in the open, so she had started searching for a nearby river inside the forest. With a bit of luck she had stumbled through the thick forest into the hidden glade. It had been the scent and the sound of water that had guided her through the narrow path between the trees.

So once again Naruto found herself in the same hidden glade. She looked around, though not as much as done the first time she was there, before she undressed herself. She soon stood in only her underwear and chest bindings. It was summer, so it wasn't very cold outside, but she did feel a little bit chilly. It was probably not due to the weather, but due to the fact that she wasn't used to being almost naked outside. It was summer after all, so the water wasn't too cold either; it'd just take a couple of seconds to get used to it once you got in.

The blonde _jinchūriki_ looked around the glade once more just to be sure, and pulled off her underwear and unwrapped her chest bindings. She was just about to jump in, but remembered her _hitai-ate._ Naruto was very proud of her _hitai-ate._ Not only did it prove that she was a true ninja, but it was also a symbol of trust, given to her by Iruka. He had truly recognized her as _Uzumaki Naruto,_ ninjaof _Konohagakure no Sato._ She pulled her hands towards the back of her head and untied her _hitai-ate_.

Her hair seemed to grow bit longer as soon as the _hitai-ate_ came off. It was no illusion; her hair had been growing more rapidly over the last couple of weeks. It wasn't long by any means, but a bit longer than usual. Ever since it started growing faster she had started to tie it up under her _hitai-ate_ , which made it look shorter than it actually was.

Her clothes and bindings were soon scattered all over the place, but she didn't really care. Naruto was never one to neatly fold her clothes anyway. She did however carefully put her _hitai-ate_ down, not wanting to scratch it. It was one of her most treasured possessions.

"This feels sooooooooo good," she walked into the river, and started swimming around. The water was colder than the previous nights, but the girl didn't mind. She always showered in cold water back in _Konoha_ anyway, so this kind of temperature didn't bother her.

She soon started humming as she relaxed in the river. Water had always calmed the blonde. She hadn't had many opportunities to take baths in _Konoha_ , so she would take any opportunity she could.

…

Sasuke didn't follow Naruto. He simply walked where he wanted to walk, nothing more and nothing less. Why would he be following the _dobe_ anyway? No, he needed to scout the area around Tazuna's house, and if the blonde happened to be in said area it was the _dobe's_ own fault.

The Uchiha had left the clearing about fifteen minutes after Naruto after a bit of pondering, and had ultimately decided to scout the area. By now thirty minutes had passed since he had left the training ground, and he hadn't seen any signs of Naruto. The thought had occurred to him that there actually was an enemy nearby, but he couldn't really sense anyone so he doubted it.

His second thought seemed to be the most believable. Naruto had tricked him into going into the forest. Sasuke cursed himself, but quickly corrected his thoughts. He didn't follow Naruto. He would have gone into the forest whether Naruto did it or not.

The mangrove slowly grew thicker and thicker as he kept on walking. He was just about to turn back when he heard a humming sound. It came from inside the wall of trees. Sasuke was now on alert; the humming was feminine. As far as he knew only Naruto was out in the forest tonight. However there was something familiar about the tone, but he couldn't quite place it.

Sasuke was not that curious of a person, but something about the humming had triggered his interest. It could be an enemy, so he had to move carefully and observe whoever that voice belonged to. But the wall of trees effectively blocked his path. He didn't have enough stamina or _chakra_ to break through the trees, but even if did he wouldn't have. He did not want to alert the potential enemy of his whereabouts. Another possibility would have been to use his _chakra_ to climb the tree, which was a bit ironic. But it was the same issue there. He didn't have enough _chakra_ or stamina to pull it off.

He was a bit angry at himself for not being able to utilize his skills when they were needed, but he kept his cool regardless. He had to find some way in between the trees. He moved slowly and quietly alongside the wall of trees, and soon enough he found a small passage through the trees.

As he moved through the trees the humming got louder. If it was an enemy, it sure was a stupid one. Probably at Naruto's level. Who in their right mind would announce their location like that? No, Sasuke dismissed the idea of an enemy, but he still did not want to alert whoever it was so he kept on walking silently.

The wall of trees got thinner and thinner and Sasuke started slowing down even more. He soon found himself gazing over a fairly large clearing. Sasuke was still standing on the path between the trees, using the darkness to his advantage. Before moving in he wanted to scout the area, to find the source of the humming.

It didn't take more than a second for him to find the humming person. At the far side of the glade was a river and in the river he saw a figure. It was nighttime so it was naturally pretty dark outside, but Sasuke could make out some of the proportions of the figure. It was most likely a woman. It looked like a fairly young woman with short hair. But with the darkness it was hard for him to make out anything of significance.

Sasuke squinted his eyes in an effort to see better. A couple of seconds passed before he suddenly stopped. Here he was peeking on a woman in a river. Said woman was obviously bathing, though he couldn't really see her naked skin. Sasuke was no pervert, and he surely didn't want to risk being labeled as one. If Naruto would find out that he was peeking the blonde would have a field day. Sasuke would never hear the end of it. But speaking of Naruto, where was the stupid blonde?

Another thought entered the Uchiha's mind, a thought he had had before. But was this really…?

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 **Okay, so this chapter is a bit late. I meant to have it up waaay earlier. It has been done for a while after all. What I wanted was to find a beta-reader/cheerleader for my story, but alas I have no friends and no one has replied to my forum post so QQ, no luck in that department.**

 **This chapter was meant to be a build-up I guess. Not much happening. Hope I'm not making characters to OOC. Yadda, yadda, yadda, more stuff gonna happen in the next chapter… hopefully.**


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